The Baby Project
by The Answer Is Love
Summary: In order to pass Health class, Katniss Everdeen and her "pretend" husband must raise a baby doll for a whole month. But who will Katniss' partner be? Will the pretend romance blossom into reality? Catoniss. AU. Prepare yourself for a totally lovesick Katniss. The Hunger Games has never existed. Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does.
1. The Blond Boy

**Hey guys! This idea just came to me, so I had to write about it. Review if you want me to carry on, otherwise I'll just stop the story. I'm sorry if you already had the idea before, but I didn't mean any harm!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games or any characters.**

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The Baby Project

There is a reason I hate Mrs. Beacon's Health class.

It's hard to stay awake in, and to my right is Bradley Higgins, the most annoying kid in my year. The windows are bolted shut, and someone has carelessly painted a lumpy coat of cream paint over the handles, leaving Room 201 steaming like a sauna. Mrs. Beacon's okay though, if you look past the piles of homework she gives us every Monday afternoon.

I flip my pencil up and down in my calloused fingers, eyeing the calendar behind Mrs. Beacon's greyish-tinged hair. June 18th. Just one more month until school ends; then I could go home and practice archery in my backyard.

I smiled as I remembered my mahogany bow, crafted by my father's clever hands. Ever since I was seven years old, I've been practicing. I can shoot far distances and tiny targets high up in the sycamore trees. Way better than any other sixteen year-old in Panem.

If only I could be there right now; with the plush green grass underneath my soft leather boots.

Mrs. Beacon gets up and starts talking about our new assignment while a group of kids troop in, but I don't care. I dig my fingernails into the scratched tabletop, where people have engraved stupid messages like "Joey tha BOSS" and "MS B IS HOT".

"Katniss Everdeen, are you listening to me?" Mrs. Beacon asks. I'm jolted out of my weird thoughts, and immediately my attention snaps back to Mrs. Beacon. That's one of the cons from sitting at the front of the class.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Mrs. Beacon," I reply meekly, ducking my head and looking down at my worn jeans. A small stray thread catches my eye, and I pick at it. Mrs. Beacon visibly relaxes when she hears my reply.

She smiles widely at me, white teeth glinting in the June sun. "Good. Because I was just telling you all about our newest assignment, which will be called..."

Everyone in Room 201 starts biting their lips anxiously and drumming their fingertips on the table, hoping it's not anything stupid.

"The Baby Project." Mrs. Beacon finishes. She beams at us, like it's the best thing since sliced bread. I'm wary. I don't really like children, unless it's my little sister, Prim; and I certainly don't want to take care of a baby doll that pees.

"Awwwh Katniss! How cute! Our own little baby!" My best friend Madge squeals, stamping her feet excitedly on the ground. Madge sits on my left, so I twist my body round in my chair and face her.

"Far from it. I can't be bothered to feed a peeing doll. You're only excited so you can bag Gale for your partner!" I snort.

Madge huffs, but turns around in her seat to sneak a glance at Gale Hawthorne, the tall, dark-haired boy that sits at the back of the class. His little brother Rory is in Prim's class.

"But...Katniss, he's gorgeous," Madge sighs, leaning her elbows on Rue's desk behind her. Rue, a polite, dark-skinned girl who is tremendously small for sixteen, turns around and looks in the same direction.

"Not really," she remarks, earning a swat from Madge. She ducks, laughing, "Thresh is a total cutie!" "Oooh, Rue's got a crush!" I laugh. Thresh Rowland is incredibly sweet; he's in mostly all my classes and we get along.

But I'm not looking at Thresh.

I'm not looking at Gale either.

In the far right corner of the room, I can see a blond boy sitting back in his chair, balancing on the back legs. He's wearing a plain white t-shirt underneath a blue checkered shirt, and blue jeans with the ends tucked into his black and white hi-tops.

He has a strong, defined jaw, and his skin is creamy smooth. His blond hair is dark, unlike my friend Peeta's. His head snaps forward and before I can turn back around, his eyes are focused on me.

I hold in my breath as a stream of electricity shoots through me. His eyes are a cool, icy blue, and they look far, far away. Like he's not really focusing on Health class.

I wonder if he could feel that spark too?

I turn back around as his eyes flick towards the window.

But I'm gutted that I had to look away so soon.

Mrs. Beacon, who had been sitting at her desk all this time, clears her throat loudly. "Okay, class!" she hollers, and we all shut up.

She reaches underneath her desk and pulls out two fishbowls. They are both filled up halfway with slips of paper. "The girls' names are in the bowl on the right. The boys' names are in the bowl on the left. I will call you up, and you will "reap" a slip from the bowl of the opposite gender. The name on that slip is the name of your partner in the Baby Project."

We all gaze intently at the ball, scared of all the possibilities. Mrs. Beacon calls out the first name. "Madge."

Madge swallows, and stands up, her chair legs screeching against the smooth stone floor. She stumbles up to Mrs. Beacon, and sticks her hand in the boys' ball. She swishes it around a bit before grasping one in her fist. She lifts her arm out, and carefully unfolds the paper. The class wait with baited breath.

"Gale Hawthorne!" she says, and she breathes out with relief. I don't look behind me as Gale gets up and walks forward. You can hardly hear his footsteps; it's like walking on a bed of goose down.

He and Madge collect the baby doll from Mrs. Beacon's desk, who has four lines of the horrific toys laid out for the new "parents" to choose.

"I want that one," Madge mutters bashfully, pointing at a doll in the second row. Gale nods and picks it up by its ankle, dragging it carelessly to his desk. Madge gasps as the baby's head smacks into a table.

"Gale! Our baby!" she squeaks. Realising what she's said, her cheeks heat up and she says, "Oops."

Gale eyes her with his cool flinty eyes, and holds the baby properly. I sit back in my seat and watch the task unfold.

Thresh comes forward and picks Rue; Peeta runs up and selects Clove, Delly shuffles towards the front and grabs Marvel; and Glimmer snarls when she manages to snag Bradley Higgins.

Then it's just me, the blond boy, Cory Deakin, a boy who picks his nose freely when he thinks no one's looking, and Foxface, one of my friends.

I look behind me to see if Blond Boy's mad about being picked near to last. But he looks cold, unimpressed at the scene in front of him. I'd like to get to know him.

"Marianna." Foxface gets up at the sound of her real name and swishes up to the front, where she eyes the two boys' slips warily. She picks one up and reads out in a clear voice, "Cory Deakin."

Cory Deakin jumps out of his seat and hugs Foxface, his hands all over her back. She shoves him off, annoyed, and grabs a baby off the desk before stomping back to her seat.

Suddenly, it dawns on me.

I'm the only girl left. And Blond Boy is the only boy left.

I spin around and look at him just as his steady gaze lands on me. Our eyes connect, and I can only comprehend one thing.

Blond Boy and I are partners.

Looking after a baby.

For a month.

Oh, Katniss. You thought your life was difficult? Well, it's about to get a whole lot worse.

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**Review please? So I know if I should carry on?**

**Thanks! **

**- The Answer Is Love**


	2. Meeting Cato

**Hey guys, it's me again!**

**This is Chapter 2 of The Baby Project, and I hope you enjoy it. You get a bit more Cato too, so stay tuned. ;)**

**Remember, Review if you want me to carry on, otherwise I'll just stop the story. Tell me if you liked it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, or any characters. They belong to Suzanne Collins.**

**Please review!**

**- The Answer Is Love**

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After that, it was plain awkward.

I'd ran up, blushing profusely, and grabbed the last baby doll off the desk. It had a blue fleece hat, a white t-shirt, blue shorts, and big, blue glass eyes. The skin was clammy and rubbery, and it made me feel sick whenever I held it.

I was about to sit back at my desk when Mrs. Beacon grabbed my arm and led me off to the side of the classroom so the boys could push the desks into twos. We had to sit with our pretend "husband".

I wouldn't mind sitting next to Blond Boy. Imagine looking into those beautiful icy eyes, eyes that so closely resembled glaciers. I wanted to run my fingers through his thick dark blond hair, and lean in to plant a kiss on his soft, pink lips.

I turned around and looked at the other girls in my class, who were cradling their babies in their arms, cooing stupidly at them and pinching their plastic cheeks.

I didn't care. I hated the doll. It had a scary, artificial face, with puckered rubbery lips. The eyes even shut when you tilted the head back. I held it disdainfully by its right ankle, and the soft little hat fell onto the hard, cold floor.

Just as I was contemplating whether to kick it to the side or pick it up, Marianna grabbed it, carefully leaning her baby doll against her chest. "Here, Katniss," she smiled, placing it back on my baby's head. She jostled her baby around in her arms a little, the plastic head leaning on her chest.

"So, you got Cato Cerulean!" she squealed, lovingly stroking her baby's head. I twisted towards her so quickly that my neck cracked. "Cato Cerulean?" I yelped. "That's his name? HIM?"

I point in the direction of Blond Boy, who was lifting six chairs at once. His muscles were bulging out of his tight white shirt, but he didn't seem to be straining. Even Thresh could only manage five chairs at most.

He was perfect.

His name was perfect.

Everything about him was perfect.

He bent over to tuck another chair in, and about an inch of his shirt slid up, exposing smooth, tan skin.

I was practically drooling.

"Oh GOD." Marianna mumbled, throwing her doll to the ground. "He is perfection all over." He was lean and toned; his tight shirt hugging his abs.

"I want him!" She whispered enviously, as he swiftly pulled two desks together with one hand. He ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up. "Back off, he's mine," I smirked, admiring every inch of his tall frame.

"Umm. Katniss. He's lush. I want a real baby with him!" she moaned. I swatted her arm playfully while she giggled, her thick red hair bouncing across her shoulders. "Have fun with Cory," I wink. "He seemed to like having his hands all over you."

Her button nose wrinkles in disgust, and she clutches the doll against her body. "I don't want him," she sniffs. "But he better not hurt our baby."

Madge, Rue, Clove and even Glimmer walk over to us, and they admire my baby, saying "Ooh, how cute!" and "Of course that baby's cute; Katniss and Cato made it, didn't they!" followed by rounds of girlish laughter.

Once the boys are done, our partner leads us over to our desks. Thresh places his hand on the small of Rue's back and sits her down at the first pair from the front, even pulling her chair out for her. She looks up at him with wide eyes, before smiling at him. He smiles back at her, and when they both sit down, he slides an arm around her waist. Her head rests on his shoulder.

Marianna and Cory sit down next to them. Cory pulls Marianna's chair out from under her and she scowls, obviously sensing it's gone. She pulls it out of his clutches and sits on it, plonking the doll onto the desk.

Gale puts an arm around Madge's shoulders and they both sit down next to Cory and Marianna. Glimmer and Bradley sit behind Thresh and Rue, and on and on until everyone else is sitting down. There is a spare area for one more couple at the back.

"Katniss?" I hear a low voice ask from my right. I turn and see Cato, looking at me with cool, calm eyes. "Do you want to go to our desk?"

I nod and he places a hand on my back, taking the doll from me. I can feel everyone's eyes on us as the warmth of Cato's large hand seeps through my thin blue t-shirt. I want him to keep his hand there forever.

He pulls my chair out for me and I sit down, unable to breathe. He touched me. He touched me. His hand felt impossibly good through the cotton of my shirt. He lays the doll on the desk and sits down next to me.

I look at him tentatively. He's looking right up front, at Mrs. Beacon writing something with chalk on the whiteboard. From the side, his eyelashes are dark and long, so long that they brush his cheeks when he blinks.

His eyes are several layers of blue, ranging from deep, dark Cerulean to icy, shallow light blue arctic waters.

His lips are slightly open, and his straight, white teeth are visible. Once again, I image pressing my lips to his, his hands running through my hair...

"Cerulean," I randomly whisper, looking at him. He turns to me, a small smile spreading across his beautiful features. "Are you okay?" he asks, laying a comforting hand on my shoulder. I nod quickly, mouth slightly open in awe of his beauty. "I'm...I'm fine...ummm...are you new here? It's just, I've never seen you before and I really want to know more about you, just because you seem really sweet and stuff," I gabble, looking into his eyes. Then I relax. "Ha. Your eyes, they're beautiful."

He smirks, and his eyes flick over to the right side of my head. Before I can react, his hand tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. My breath quickens as he leans in and whispers, "Sorry. But I just had to do that, you're really very cute when you blush."

I can feel his lips brush my ears and I shiver, my cheeks hot. "Thanks," I mutter, looking down at my legs. I pick at the stray thread again, as he starts to focus on the blackboard.

I sit up, shooting a glance at Madge, but she doesn't see. Shes too busy with Gale. His arm is around her waist, and she's whispering into his ear, laughing occasionally.

Just at that moment, Mrs. Beacon says, "Listen up, guys! This is what you guys need to figure out by this Friday, which is when we have our next lesson."

She steps to the side of the blackboard, and we study her neat, curly writing. It says:

By next Friday, me and my partner will have:

-Picked a name for our baby.

-Created a personality for our baby.

-Taken the baby home at least twice each. NO DITCHING THE OTHER PERSON.

She slides back into her desk chair and looks at the clock. Ten minutes to go before the end of school.

Madge puts her hand up. "Since school ends soon, can we just...get to know our partner?" She sends a flirty wink Gale's way, and he winks straight back. I whistle through my teeth. Things are going well for Gale and Madge.

Mrs. Beacon considers it. "Hmm. Okay," she nods. "Go on. All of you can chat."

Instantly, the room is filled with voices. I can see Cory Deakin attempt to converse with Marianna, who brushes him away.

Thresh and Rue are laughing together, and their baby is on Rue's lap, supported by her arm. They look happy together.

Bradley Higgins is shamelessly flirting with Glimmer, chucking compliments at the blonde. She laughs vivaciously and runs a manicured hand down his arm. He blushes a deep pink.

Cato nudges me. "Everdeen," he starts, "Can we talk?"

I'm so shocked that I say, "Yes." He grins at me. "Hey, wife. I'm Cato Cerulean, I'm seventeen years old. I'm from District 2."

I smiled at him and outstretched my hand. He shook it, muscles bulging a little. "Hey, husband. I'm Katniss Everdeen. Sixteen years old, and from District 12."

His jaw drops and he says, "Are you serious?" I roll my eyes. This area is called the Capitol. There are twelve districts, or counties, around the Capitol, and I'm from the furthest one. District 2 is about twenty minutes away. District 12 is an hour away.

"Why do you come here, if it's too far away from your home?" he asks me in his low voice.

"It's a good school," I answer. "Good Music programs. I take Music."

He smiles at me. A nice, big, wide smile. All of his teeth are a dazzling white and equal in size. "No kidding!" he laughs. "You take Music? Well, I don't take it but I can sing and play guitar."

Before I know what I'm doing, I grab his arm and say, "Will you sing a song for me sometime? Please?" His skin is warm and smooth, and I never want to let go. He looks into my eyes and a slow smile spreads across his face. "Sure." he whispers, leaning into me. He's so close I can smell his cologne. It smells masculine, comforting, and just so Cato.

"What about your family?" he asks me, and I stiffen. He must notice, because he leans in even closer, so impossibly close that we could kiss if he wanted; and says, "You don't have to tell me, okay? Tell me whenever you're ready."

His hand finds mine, and I grip it tightly, feeling the electricity burst through my veins. The feeling of his warm skin on mine makes me smile; but of course, he can't see it. I'm looking down at our knees, which are brushing each others.

"So, Everdeen, tomorrow, did you want to-"

"That's enough, class!" Mrs. Beacon yells loudly. Everyone sits up straighter and faces the front. I drop Cato's hand, but I desperately want to hold it again. We twist back around, and he's cursing under his breath.

"Time to go home," she announces, so we all stand up. Cato clears his throat awkwardly and asks if I want to take the doll. I don't mind, so I say "Yeah, okay," and he helps me jam the doll into my backpack.

Just as we're about to leave, Cato asks me for his number. "For, you know, emergencies. Whenever you need me, or I need you, or just to talk. You know."

He was blushing scarlet.

"Fine," I smile, and I give him my number. He taps it into his phone while I wait. He looks up, a half-smile on his beautiful face.

"See you later, Cerulean?" I laugh, and he suddenly takes my hand. He pulls me closer until I'm leaning on him, his breath on my face, and whispers; "You'll definitely be seeing more of me later."

He makes his way out the door with a quick smile at me, and I'm frozen to the spot. I hear a wolf whistle behind me and turn around to see Marianna. "Cato has the hots for you," she giggles. "See you tomorrow!"

She skips out of the classroom, light blue polka dot dress flying out around her. I'm confused and lovesick. I don't know what to do.

Sighing, I slide my tattered backpack further over my shoulder and walk down the marble hallways to the place that I know I will always find Primrose Everdeen, my younger sister.

But as I round the corner, I can hear Prim talking to someone. A boy. I flatten myself against the wall and stain my ears to listen to their conversation.

"Katniss hasn't had a boyfriend yet."

"What, ever?"

"Yeah. She hasn't. She hasn't kissed anyone either."

"I'm surprised about that."

"Why? What's so surprising?"

"Well..."

"Catooooooo! Tell meeee!"

I gasped and nearly fainted. Prim is talking about my love life with Cato! CATO! My crush!

"Because she's beautiful. I can feel a spark whenever we touch."

"Eew, I don't really need to know if you're touching my sister or not, thanks!"

They both laugh, and I'm jealous at their easygoing personalities. I'm hostile and sullen; why can't I be good-looking, blonde and kind?

"Well, I have to go, Prim. I need to get home early tonight."

"Why? Are you okay? How are the other bruises healing up?"

"Fine."

"Cato, you need to tell someone." she says defiantly.

I can hear the sounds of fabric being pulled up, and Prim's gasp.

"Never!" He snarls. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap, I know you're just trying to help. Uh...well, i have to go. Bye, Prim."

"Bye, Cato!" she laughs, and I choose this moment to walk calmly through, even whistling a little melody. Prim is leaning against the brick wall, anxiously fiddling with the strap of her white leather school bag.

"Hi, Katniss!" she squeals, throwing her little skinny arms around my waist. "Hey, Little Duck," I laugh, hugging her back. Her shoulder blades are prominent, sticking out of her pale skin. I'm worried for her.

"So who were you talking to, Little Duck?" I ask her, as we push past groups of schoolkids to the exit.

Her head whips towards me, comically quick. "Nothing! No one!" she panics, and for the rest of the walk home, she walks one step ahead of me.

Prim's growing up; keeping secrets from me, adopting her selfless personality and readily helping anyone who asks. Heck, she even helped Marianna pick up all 120 beads from her necklace when it snapped last week, throwing small sapphire blue beads into every possible corner.

Now that was tricky.

While we were walking down the grassy lane that leads to our house, Prim innocently asked me, "Katniss? Don't you want a boyfriend?"

I froze. Cato knew Prim, and Prim knew Cato. If I said I liked Cato, surely Prim would tell him.

"Maybe," I replied breezily, rummaging around in my bag for our house key. "I don't know."

Her face lights up with the element of hope, and I want to cry at how happy she looks. The second we get in, she runs to her room, leaving me all alone.

I open all the windows, letting the sweet, summery air filter in, before going to my room and lying down on my bed. Fishing my phone out of my bag, I put it on the dresser, staring at the blank Home screen.

Just staring.

Waiting for Cato to call.

But, of course, he doesn't.

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**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me if you still want me to carry on, or just tell me if you enjoyed this chapter!**

**- The Answer Is Love**


	3. Call me?

**Hey guys, it's only me!**

**Thank you for clicking on my story, The Baby Project. You honestly don't know how much this means to me. Thanks.**

**This story now has 31 followers...amazing! Highest amount of followers I've ever had was 4! So this is absolutely surreal.**

**For those of you that are wondering, yes, Prim and Cato know each other because Prim heals his bruises.**

**But I'm not telling you how he got them, yet! **

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**Tell me if you liked this chapter!**

**-The Answer Is Love **

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I couldn't believe he didn't call me.

Didn't he like me?

I sat by my phone, waiting for about six hours. I pressed the button every twenty seconds, looking at the time, praying that a message would flash up saying he'd called.

I just knew we'd be amazing together; running through fields of sunflowers, holding hands, laughing with the sun beating down on us. Then he'd lean over and kiss me, tasting of sweet, fizzy drink and smelling of his amazing cologne.

But in reality, what was I? A stupid girl who sat on her bed all day waiting for a boy to call. I was just like one of those idiots from reality sitcoms. Going crazy for a boy I barely even knew.

In a fit of exasperation, I snatched the phone off of the dresser and hurled it at the opposite wall. Prim came running at the sound of the plastic case cracking.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" She was clearly aghast. My eyes started to sting, and I knew I was about to cry. "I...I don't know," I sobbed, tears rolling down my cheeks. "I thought he liked me!"

She comes running at me and wraps her arms around my torso. "He does like you!" she says, wiping the years off my face with the hem of her pink pleated dress. The linen is scratchy against my sore skin.

"He doesn't!" I weep. "He would've called me already if he did." Prim purses her lips together, agitated. She's probably trying to refrain from telling me about her talk with Cato.

I don't have the heart to tell her I already heard their conversation.

"Boys never call on the same day, Katniss." She tucks my hair behind my ear. The exact same clump of hair that Cato had tucked behind that very ear just hours before.

I sniffed inwards loudly. "How would you know that." I mumbled, reaching for my pillow and clutching it to my chest. "Can you go check if my phone is broken?"

Obediently, Prim jumps up and fetches my phone. The case took most of the impact and has a large crack straight down the middle. My phone is scuffed and scratched, but miraculously still in one piece.

I press the Home button and sigh.

No missed calls or texts.

He played me.

He played me well.

Well, who needs Cato Cerulean anyway.

"Come on, Katniss," Prim days gently, prising my phone out of my fingers and laying it back down on my dresser. "Come into the kitchen, I'll make dinner."

So I let my little sister tug me over to the kitchen, and sit me down at one of the hard wooden chairs. Prim hauls a box out in front of the cupboard and stands on it, trying to reach the top shelf.

I jump up immediately and fetch the packet of sauce for her. I kick the box into a corner and together, we both make pasta with tomato sauce. It's fun cooking with Prim. It even took my mind off Cato for a while.

Ten minutes later, we're just sitting at the kitchen table, talking as we eat. "Are you okay, Katniss?" Prim asked softly. I stab some pasta angrily with my fork and scowl. "Nothing. I just thought he at least felt something for me. A small connection, you know? But he can't even be bothered to call, so clearly I'm mistaken."

Prim looks devastated, so I push my chair back from the table and pad back to my bedroom. The weight of disappointment drags me down.

I lie down on my bed and sob all my thoughts out. How Cato never really liked me and played with my feelings; how my mother isn't there to talk to me about girl things; how nobody understands me but a small, skinny thirteen year-old girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.

I hear the front door slam and Prim yelp, "Mommy!" My mother calls out for me. "Katniss! Katniss, honey?"

But I stay in my room, digging my fingernails into my duvet. My mother and Prim sit in the living room, talking for what seems like ages.

But I can't stop myself thinking of Cato. Cato, the gorgeous blond boy with the cerulean eyes.

My mother's head pops around the door and she smiles at me. "Bedtime, honey. Goodnight." She picks up a blanket and drapes it over me, kissing my forehead gently.

I watch her leave my room and switch off the light, leaving me in total darkness.

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**I know, I'm sorry that this chapter is quite sad. But hey, he didn't call, it can't all be rainbows and unicorns.**

**Please leave a review? Give me feedback or just tell me what you liked about this chapter, so I can include it again.**

**I know this chapter was really short and I'm sorry, but because of that fact the next update will be even sooner!**

**Keep calm and review!**

**- The Answer Is Love**


	4. Cerulean Eyes

**Hiya, it's me! Two updates in one day, because I feel like I disappointed with you guys with that ultra short chapter.**

**So here's Chapter 4. With a little more Cato Confrontation. ;)**

**Review if you want me to carry on with this story; tell me if you liked it!**

**- The Answer Is Love**

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I hated school today.

I woke up at three in the morning, with dried tears all over my face, shaking wildly. My forehead was cold and clammy, just as that stupid baby doll's skin was.

The sunlight was already creeping through my blinds, so I opened them wide and let the light pour in, hoping it would shed some light on the dreary atmosphere. But instead, the light quickly moved to the left, shrouding me in darkness once again.

Shuffling miserably back to my bed, I tripped over my school bag and fell hard onto the floor, face-first. I sat up, ignoring the stinging feeling, and reached out for my bag. Unzipping it with trembling hands, I pulled out the doll and held it at arm's length. It stared back with its grotesque expression.

"You probably know your daddy better than I do," I muttered. "So tell me, does he like me? Do you think he feels anything for me?"

The doll stares blindly back at me, big blue eyes wide open, just like Cato's had been yesterday. My bottom lip wobbles and I bite down on it hard to stifle the sobs emitting from my body.

"Now's not the time to cry," I say fiercely, shoving the doll back into my backpack. "I'm going back to bed."

Heaving myself up off the floor, I collapse onto my bed, smuggling into my fat, slightly lumpy pillow, and let my dreams carry me away.

Far, far away, to a place where Cato might actually love me.

I was sitting on a picnic blanket with Cato. He was leaning back on one elbow, long legs in the air. Smiling contentedly at me, he took my hand in his.

"I love you, Katniss." he murmured. We both leaned in, so close that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. My hands rested on his broad shoulders, and one of his hands was in my hair while the other one gripped my waist gently.

He was so close that I could feel his breath on my lips, his deep cerulean eyes looking into my soul...

"Katniss...Kaaaatniss...Katniss!" a soft melodic voice called. All I could think about was the fact that Cato Cerulean's lush, soft-looking pink lips were going to be on mine soon.

"Katniss!" the voice sang, louder this time. I pulled away from Cato reluctantly and yelled, "WHAT!"

"You've got to go to school," the voice trilled, and suddenly, I was being lifted up, away from Cato, into the blue, cloudless sky. He was looking up at me, smiling and waving, as I tried my best to grip my dress so he couldn't see up it.

Then I was hurtling back down to earth, screaming frantically for Cato to catch me. "Cato! Cato! CATO!" I screamed, but he turned his back on me and began to walk away.

"Katniss! Baby! It's alright, I'm here!" My mother's warm arms encircled me, and I clung to her like a lifeline, sobbing into her shoulder.

"What's wrong, honey?" She asked worriedly, pressing the back of her hand against my forehead. "Are you sick?"

I shook my head, wailing. I could see Prim standing behind my worried mother. "Prim, go and crush some ice with mint. Wrap it in a cloth and bring it to Katniss."

Prim nodded and ran to the kitchen quickly, shooting a glance at me. I'd stopped crying, but my head was throbbing.

"Are you alright, Katniss? Tell me what's wrong." My mother sat down on my bed, one hand rubbing my arm. "It's nothing, Mom, I swear."

"Then who's Cato?"

That one threw me.

"How do you know him?" I whisper. "Did Prim tell you?" She shakes her head and replies, "No, you were screaming out for him, honey. So he's a boy...we're getting somewhere."

I laugh, just a little. "He's my partner in this lame project at school. We have to look after a dumb doll. He said he'd call me, but he didn't, and-" my eyes fill up with tears. "He never really liked me!"

My mother looks astonished. "Is this what it's all about? He must be a really special boy, or either you're just mental, darling." We have a good laugh, and it feels just like old times.

"School starts in two hours," she says, rubbing my back. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

I don't want to sit at home all day wondering what the hell happened, so I say, "I'll go in." My mother smiles at me and laughs, "It's that brave Everdeen blood."

Just as my mother leaves my room, Prim runs in with the ice and mint wrapped in a cloth. She presses it against my forehead, holding it there. "You were crying for Cato, so I got Mother," she whispers, hugging me with one arm. I smile at her and say, "Thank you, Prim."

Prim scurries out, sending me a fleeting smile. I groan and hold the ice and mint pack to my forehead, letting a few stray drops of water fall down my cheeks. The light tickling sensation calms me.

I run to the bathroom, brush my teeth hurriedly with some toothpaste, and make a dash for the kitchen. Prim hands me a slice of toast on a plate, which I stuff into my mouth, chew quickly and wash it down with a mug of tea.

My mother and Prim watch me with wide eyes. "At least you're eating," my mother smiled approvingly. "But why so quickly?"

"She's rushing to school to see Cato," Prim giggles, and I shoot her a death glare. She raises an eyebrow at me. "Ha-ha," I say, rolling my eyes. "Get ready to go, Prim."

Prim skips over to her room and comes out ten minutes later wearing a light blue dress and long white socks with white pearly button shoes. She grabs her white leather school bag off the floor and I slide my tatty backpack onto my shoulder.

Twisting the rusty latch of our front door open, we step out into the country lane that leads us to the Capitol through other districts.

I love this lane; the floor is made up of sandy dirt, and to the sides are picket fences and grass. The electricity pylons run straight through it, too. It's peaceful, and you get a feeling of self worth.

"You were crying for him," Prim says suddenly. I don't know what to say, so I mutter, "Yes." Prim's big blue eyes blink innocently at me. "How do you know that he doesn't like you?" she says. "I'm sure he likes you."

"How?" I snap. "He didn't call." Prim rolls her eyes, just like I did. "Like I said, boys never call on the first day! They're worried that it makes them look desperate."

Huh. I didn't think about that. If I called Cato immediately after I'd got his number, I guess he'd be creeped out too. Like I'm a stalker or something.

"I don't care," I mumble. Prim sighs, and we trudge down the path to school. We're there quite early, but I know Marianna and Rue arrive at the same time.

Marianna is waiting for me at the gates, wearing a white dress with emerald-green spirals all over it. She says hello to Prim as she passes by to talk to her friend Emma. "Katniss!" she smiles, hugging me. Then she gets a good look at my face. "Oh, you look awful. Didn't you sleep last night?" she asks. I shake my head, since I slept for the most of it.

"Well, you'd better not fall asleep in lessons, then, we've got Drama." then she squeals, "Look, it's your crush! Oh Catooooo!"

Then I spot him. Surrounded by ten or more guys, who are laughing and joking with him. They even fist bump. His head snaps our way when he hears Marianna.

"God! Marianna, don't!" I plead, but she's jumping up on one leg, waving her hands in the air and yelling, "Cooo-eeeee!"

Her voice is unbelievably loud. Mix that with her fiery red hair (she's the only person in the school with red hair) and she sticks out like a sore thumb.

Cato nods at some of the other guys, and before I can run away, he's right in front of me. He smiles at me. "Hey." Marianna sidles away behind him, mouthing, "You're welcome," at me. I scowl instead. "Good morning," I say stiffly. "Of course, it's not a very good morning for me at all. I hardly slept last night."

His eyebrows furrow in concern. "Really? What's wrong? Are you okay?" He does look gorgeous, but I can't give in.

Not after what he did.

"Someone didn't call me, so I was stuck in a parallel universe falling from the sky! Why couldn't we just stay on the picnic blanket? HUH? HUH?! You tell me, Cato Cerulean!" I snap.

He looks at me, confused for a nanosecond, then his eyes grow cold. "Are you mad just because I didn't call you?"

Marianna, who was standing behind Cato the whole time, rushes to my side. "Kind of!" I admit, crossing my arms. "So what, it doesn't matter if I've got things to do? It's got to be all about you?" He's getting frosty now.

"I didn't mean that!" I snarl back, as Marianna watches us, alarm growing in her bright blue eyes. "So what did you mean?" Cato barked. "Why do you care if I've called or what?"

I clench my fists and shut my eyes, trying to remain calm. "Because I at least thought you liked me. That's what I heard you say...to Prim. I heard everything."

His face blanches, and I grab Marianna's arm and walk away. "Katniss," he calls weakly. "Katniss, come back. I can explain."

But I grit my teeth and march ahead with Marianna. We reach the stairs, and slow down. "What was that all about?" Marianna asks. "I thought you liked him?"

"I do," I wail, as we climb up the steps. "I heard him say to Prim that he liked me, but then he didn't call!"

Marianna stops walking, then stops. And starts laughing. "Oh, Katniss! You're amazing!" she giggles. "Boys never call on the same day! Ever!"

Didn't Prim say something of the sort to me yesterday? I guess I should've believed her. I'd just pushed her opinions to the back of my mind because she hadn't had a boyfriend before.

"Oh," I mutter. My legs tremble, and I slide down to the floor on my knees. "I didn't know! He probably hates me now!"

Marianna hands me a tissue, as a group of kids run down the stairs. "Hasn't a boy ever called you before?"

I blush and shake my head. Marianna nods understandingly and offers me a hand to pull me up. "Come on, we've got to get to class."

We push open Room 221's door just as the bell goes off, and slide into our desks. Marianna and I sit together at the back, Peeta and Rue sit at the front, and Madge, Delly, sit at the right end. Clove and Glimmer sit on the left.

Our teacher, Mr. Wythley, sits behind his own desk and does the roll call. "Katniss Everdeen!" he yells. I raise my arm and murmur, "Here."

"Marianna Dawson!"

"I'm right here!"

"Clove Feder!"

"I'm here, quit screaming."

"Glimmer Quentin!"

"Huh? Oh, I'm over here, hiya!"

"Peeta Mellark!"

"Here, sir. Morning!"

"Rue Bennett!"

"Here!"

"Madge Undersee!"

"I'm heeeeeeeere!" she sings, and we all laugh.

"Delly Cartwright!"

"Right here!"

Mr. Wythley finishes the roll call and gives us the "be a role model" speech. Marianna passes me a note under the table sneakily. I open it up.

It says:

"Kat, you still gotta give Cato the doll! It's a project!"

Oh yeah. I'd totally forgotten.

I whip a pen out of my bag and scrawl out a message back.

_I'll give him the dumb doll today at lunch. He can keep it, I don't want it_.

Seconds later, Marianna passes me a note with a whole paragraph of her neat curly writing on it.

"Don't be like that, really Kat! Come on, ya know you love him! He was trying to explain, I'd listen! What if he has a deep, dark secret! We all do! Give him a chance."

I pass it back instantly.

_No. I'm giving him the doll then walking away_.

Marianna sighs, but pockets the note. The bell for our first lesson sounds and we all stand up and troop out the door, ready to leave.

"Room 332," Marianna tells me. "Art."

"Let's go then," I smile. She grabs my arm and together, we hurry away.

We arrive ten minutes early for Art. The only other people from our class with me and Marianna are Peeta and Glimmer. We all sit together at the table near the window.

"This is excellent. Nobody around to disturb us." Peeta sighs, putting his feet up on the desk in front of Glimmer and snuggling back into his chair.

Glimmer knocks his feet off the desk with a single swipe of her manicured hand. "Ugh, Mellark. I don't need to see your muddy shoes first thing in the morning, thanks."

Marianna sits straight-backed in her chair, her beautiful dress spread across her knees daintily. "Come on, Glimmer! Give Peeta a break!" she laughs, and Peeta winks at her. She blushes prettily, and Glimmer mutters, "Lovebirds."

"We aren't the lovebirds! Cato and Katniss are!" Marianna yelps indignantly. All eyes are on me now.

"Are you seriously smitten with Cato Cerulean?" Glimmer asks, painting her nails carefully with a sparkly pink nail polish. "It looked like you two had something going on yesterday!"

Peeta snorts. "Yeah, what about you and that Bradley Higgins?" Glimmer's face colours. "Nothing!" she squeaks. "I swear! Umm...well...he's cute, isn't he?"

Marianna shrugs, taking out a book from her leather satchel. "I think he's okay. Katniss thinks he's annoying though."

Glimmer blinks at me. "He's not," she says. "Annoying at first, maybe. But he's so lovely."

I'm not about to argue. I don't have it in me.

"But really, what's going on with that Cato Cerulean?" Peeta asks. "He wouldn't talk to anyone this morning. He's just by himself, looking all...lonely. And troubled. Is he your boyfriend, Katniss?"

I shook my head wildly. "No! No! We aren't...like that."

Marianna shoots him a knowing look, and he shuts up immediately. Glimmer blows on her nails, tidying up near her cuticles. "Okay, but I know you guys have something. A connection."

Just then, our teacher, Ms. Loretta, walks in with the rest of the students. "Morning, kids!" she smiles. "Today, you'll be doing drawings, of the person you love."

Everyone groans and scoffs but our table. Marianna thinks it'd be cute, Peeta draws anything, and Glimmer just sits around painting her nails.

Ms. Loretta hands out plain sheets of paper and charcoal pencils. Peeta grabs his and starts sketching right away. Marianna draws a rough face shape with childish, cartoon eyes.

"Who are you drawing?" I ask her. She just winks and taps the side of her nose. "You'll see," she laughs.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck. I have no idea what to draw. Even Glimmer is drawing something. I sit there for half an hour, listening to the comforting sounds of pencils scratching on paper.

Suddenly, my hand flies up and draws a strong, chiselled jaw, spiky dark blond hair, and eyes with long eyelashes. I sketch sharp cheekbones and add sparkles to the eyes.

I ask Marianna for a blue colouring pencil and colour in his eyes; starting deep and dark around the pupils and going lighter as I go out.

I shade in the boy's hair with a yellow colouring pencil, blending it in with brown. His skin is coloured in roughly with a neutral tone; and the softest, most tender pink is used on his lips.

Those lips that I want to kiss so badly.

Marianna leans over my shoulder and her breath catches in her throat. "Whoa, Katniss, you're amazing at art. Is that...Cato?"

I nod, and fight the urge to smile. But the overwhelming happiness I'm feeling, looking down at his beautiful face, is too powerful and I end up smiling anyway.

"Alright, class, show each other your drawings!" Ms. Loretta shouts above the noise of 30 teenagers talking.

We all slide our drawings into the middle of the table and inspect them. Peeta's drawing is of Marianna; her hair is a stunning, fiery red and her eyes are a clear blue. It looks so lifelike.

Glimmer's drawing is of Bradley Higgins. It's not too bad; but the lines are messy and she hasn't coloured it in.

Marianna's drawing consists of a cartoon Peeta; sparkling eyes and all; holding a plate of bread. "So cute!" we all laugh.

Marianna winks at Peeta and Peeta winks straight back, smiling charmingly. I can tell they'd be amazing together.

Then everyone looks at mine and nobody says a word. "Is that Cato?" Peeta asks. I nod slowly. Peeta nods back at me. "You've made him look beautiful," he smiles.

All heads turn to Peeta.

"Dude, are you gay?" Glimmer asks incredulously. Peeta blushes red. "N-n-no," he stammers. "But she's done an excellent job of drawing him."

"I agree," Marianna pipes up. "He looks amazing. Love the eyes!"

I have to admit, this is the best drawing I've ever done. The only lessons I excel at are Drama and Music; so this is shocking for me.

The bell rings for our second lesson, and we all grab our bags and troop out. Marianna and Glimmer aren't in my class, so we hug goodbye and Peeta and I stroll slowly to Drama.

As we're climbing the steps to Room 186, Peeta asked me about Marianna.

"She hasn't got a boyfriend, has she?" he asks me worriedly.

I shake my head as we arrive outside of Room 186. Peeta holds open the door for me and I step in, only to bang hard into someone.

"Watch it!" I snarl, disgruntled for a second. Peeta catches my elbow to support me, and as I gather my bearings, I realise I'm face to face with a muscular chest. I look up...and into the eyes of my beautiful, sweet Blond Boy.

"Cato?"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! That was long, wasn't it?**

**Tell me what parts you liked!**

**Review if you want me to carry on, guys!**

**Good day/afternoon, and May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favour!**

**- The Answer Is Love**


	5. Love, Romance and Other Words

**Hey guys!**

**First of all, let me say that I am really, really sorry. I realise how late this update is and I felt so cruel for leaving it on that cliffhanger. Here is a longer chapter - 13 pages in Microsoft Word! Just for you guys.  
**

**I don't post this story anywhere else (Wattpad, Tumblr etc) so if someone posts it, it's not me.  
**

**Here is Chapter 5!  
**

**Review if you want me to carry on!  
**

* * *

"Cato?"

He smirks down at me, and says, "Oh, look. If it isn't Katniss Everdeen. What's the matter, Kitty Kat; you come here to yell at me again?"

I shake my head defiantly. "This is my class! What are you doing here? And anyways, I liked you a lot, and I thought you felt something for me. Clearly not!"

Cato snorts, crossing his arms. "Let's not play around, Katniss. I was in the second highest class but today, they put me up to the top. I don't know; maybe they like me. I thought YOU liked me. But I was wrong too, since you're going out with Mister Cheesy Buns here!"

I look at Peeta, distraught. "Cato, Peeta is my best friend. Not my boyfriend."

Cato's smirk faltered. "What, so you aren't dating?"

We both shake our heads defiantly, but I remember too late that Peeta's still supporting me with one hand on my waist and the other one cupping my elbow.

Cato's cerulean eyes find mine and he laughs. A cold, harsh laugh; not his usual warm, heart-melting chuckle. "I don't think you told me the truth at all, you two," he says, his voice dangerously soft. "But you know what, I don't care. So, Everdeen...just spitballing here; but I don't think you'll ever get that call from me."

Then he walks away, leaving me absolutely devastated. "Well..." Peeta says lightly. "That went well." I stomp away from him and look around the class.

The Drama room has a huge performance area in the middle with tables and chairs surrounding it. I pull Peeta over to the furthest table, in the far right corner. Cato sits at the far left.

Our Drama teacher, Mrs. Trinket, sweeps into the middle of the room, fuchsia pink ruffled skirt swishing and her white, curly wig bobbing up and down. Her mouth is painted with bright pink lipstick and her skin is flawless. Dainty white gloves cover her hands.

"Welcome, welcome! The time has nearly come to end school. And so, today, children, we will be acting out scenes of gorgeous, beautiful, simply extraordinary love!"

I groan loudly and thump the tabletop with my fist. Only then do I realise that I'm the only one who groaned. My cheeks heat up as everyone sniggers at me. Even Peeta laughs a little.

Cato's left eyebrow is raised and a small smirk is settled on his lips. Mrs. Trinket looks perturbed, but says, "Miss Everdeen, please have some respect for the genre of romance."

I bow my head and nod meekly whilst Mrs. Trinket prattles on some more. Then everyone gets up. "Peeta! Peeta!" I hiss. He looks down at me in my chair. "Why is everyone standing?"

He stands up straighter and replies, "We're being put into groups. For the scene."

I nod and stand up too, pushing my seat out behind me. Mrs. Trinket sorts everyone into groups of four. I watch as she points her long, manicured index finger at Cato, who is lumbered with Karmin Blue, Laurel Heath, and Marcus Dee.

He dutifully goes and stands with them, towering at least six or seven inches above Marcus, one of the tallest kids in the class. He looks intimidating, determined; but for some reason I just can't look away.

"Miss, this is stupid!" Laurel squeaks, stamping her feet up and down. Her light brown curls fly around everywhere, and one smacks Karmin in the face.

See, I don't mind Karmin. She'd be one of my friends if we were in the same class. But she's in a whole other building, so we never see each other except for Thursday afternoon with Mr. Butler.

She sees me eyeing Cato and delightedly mouths, "You like him!" just as Peeta's being led away into another group. I shake my head frantically with gestures just as Cato's breathtaking blue eyes latch hold of mine and hold on. I can't breathe.

I concentrate on the ever-changing blues of his eyes, daring him to look away, but he doesn't. He tilts his head cutely to the side, raising an eyebrow, and I feel a blush creeping up to my cheeks. His eyes bore into mine, and I never want to look away.

"DO YOU EVER PAY ATTENTION, MISS EVERDEEN?!" A torrent of spit rains down on my right ear. turn around and find a very angry Mrs. Trinket, with looks that could kill, standing right behind me.

I gulp audibly. "Sometimes." I hear a light laugh from the right side of the room, and I know it can only be Peeta. Ms. Trinket sighs, defeated. "Katniss, you need to learn to pay ATTENTION. Go and stand with your group, please."

She points behind me, and I pivot around to see my group. Bradley Higgins, Tori Walsh and Brianna Eaton.

Bradley Higgins has his arms folded and is staring into space. Tori Walsh is complaining about our group, whining in her high voice. Brianna Eaton wears glasses and has her brown hair in a ponytail. She's quiet, and her inquisitive green eyes peek through the lenses of her glasses.

"Oh, great, we have HER?" Tori snaps, whipping a nail file out of her pocket and buffing up her nails. "I'd rather have Hottie McHottie." She giggles, and her mascara-rimmed eyes focus on a point far over my shoulder. I turn and spot Cato, standing underneath a bright ray of light.

It lights up the top of his blond head, giving his eyes a glowing eerie quality. His arms, like Bradley's, are folded, but his biceps are bulging out of his thin t-shirt material.

He looks amazing. His eyes don't even look my way, but I don't care. He never loved me anyway.

"Oh, shut up, Tori," Bradley says, clearly annoyed. "She's alright." He sends a smile my way, and I'm suddenly thinking that maybe, Bradley Higgins is alright. I smile back. "Hi, Katniss," Brianna whispers, straightening her glasses. "Hey," I smile. Mrs. Trinket hands out our scripts, with our names and lines written on them. Mine says "Katniss Everdeen - Girlfriend".

Bradley's says "Bradley Higgins - Boyfriend", Tori's says "Tori Walsh - Girl 2" and Brianna's says "Brianna Eaton - Katniss' friend".

Tori is beside herself with rage. "Girl 2? Girl 2?!" she splutters. "The cheek of it! I'm the star! Everdeen! Swap scripts NOW!"

Just as I'm about to give in, Mrs. Trinket sweeps past, singing, "Absolutely not!" Tori scowls but sucks it up. Bradley looks fine with it all. I flip through the script and instantly want to pass out. On page 4, it says:

*Bradley enters*

Bradley: Honey, I missed you.

Katniss: *smiles* I missed you too.

Bradley: *smiles and pulls Katniss in for a passionate kiss*

OH NO.

I have to kiss Bradley Higgins?

Glimmer's going to kill me.

But wait, she knows I like Cato.

I'm safe.

"You like Cato?" Brianna asks me, eyes wide. A sense of panic fills my head. "Did I just say that out loud?" I gasp. Brianna nods. I flip around, but Tori is busy crying to Ms. Tenant and Bradley is reading his script. "Yes. I like him. Very much. But you can't tell him, okay?"

She nods solemnly and opens up her script. A hand finds mine, and I grip it tightly because the warmth is comforting. It's Bradley Higgins. "Hey Katniss!" he laughs. I laugh back, because Bradley is actually really nice.

He spins me round, and I giggle. A flash of blue is in the background, and all of a sudden, Cato's eyes meet mine from across the room. They look cold, frosty even. Bradley's other hand still clasps mine, but his other hand now rests on my waist. It doesn't have that same heart-melting quality that Cato's touch did, but it's fine. "What's Cato doing looking at you?" he asked. I looked away from Cato. "I don't know," I said honestly. "But I can't believe I thought you were annoying, you're actually pretty nice."

Bradley smiles ecstatically. "Brilliant, because now we've got to kiss." My stomach churns, because even though I don't hate Bradley Higgins, it's awkward. And Cato-

Wait.

Forget Cato. He's an idiot.

He's not worth it.

I'm an actress, and sometimes you just do things you have to do. So I nod and laugh, "Great! Let's practice." Bradley calls Tori and Brianna over, and we start acting out in the middle of the classroom.

Brianna is a surprisingly good actor, and we practice all scenes but the kissing one. Tori sulks but acts on, trying her best.

We're all trying our best.

I crane my neck over Brianna's shoulder to look for Cato's group, and I don't like what I see.

Cato and Karmin are in a liplock, standing pressed against each other. His right hand is on her shoulder, and his left is tangled in her gorgeous hair. They're kissing deeply, passionately, Karmin's arms around Cato's neck.

Well, they both look like they're enjoying it.

It makes me feel sick to my stomach. That's always how I imagined kissing Cato; not caring about anyone around us, just moving our lips against each others' and holding our bodies close together.

They finally break apart and Karmin gives him a dazzling smile. He smiles back, and Karmin says something, flipping her beautiful hair over her shoulder. They both laugh, and I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"What are you looking at?" Brianna whispers. "You aren't looking at Cato Cerulean, are you?" I shake my head hurriedly, but hot tears snake down my face. I bat them away fiercely, the rough material of my long-sleeved shirt scratching my skin.

But I can barely feel the stinging sensation. All I'm thinking is, why did I think that would ever be us? Does he like Karmin? Are they dating? Does he not feel anything for me? Are we, or were we anything?

"Nothing," I snap. Brianna looks at me, unfazed. "Gosh, Katniss," she says. "You were so obviously looking at Cato Cerulean and Karmin Blue, I don't even know why I asked."

But I can't talk to Brianna. I can't do anything. Or feel anything. Brianna walks away silently, and after a few minutes of me standing there, staring at my shoes, a warm pair of arms encircle me.

My eyes widen, and I look down. A pair of lean, long toned arms are around my waist. They don't bong to Brianna. In fact, they look like they belong to Bradley.

I turn around, still in his arms, and wrap my arms around him too. He folds me in closer, and I lean against his chest. It's warm and slightly muscular, and feels nice.

He bends down slightly. He's about three or four inches taller than me. Cato is about seven. "All right?" he murmurs into my ear. "I don't want to rush you, but we have to do the scene in front of everyone in about two minutes."

His mouth opens a little, like he's going to say something else, but instead he kisses my cheek slowly and lets me go, strolling back to Tori.

I place my hand on my cheek, blushing. He didn't have to kiss me, or hug me. But he did. Does he...like me? That hand-holding and twirling earlier really do add it up.

That can't be.

But Bradley isn't that bad.

Then all the lights go off and I can't see anybody at all. I wonder if Cato knew I was watching the kiss.

"Group One: Mandy, Keith, George and May!" Mrs. Trinket calls through the darkness. You can hear the pattering of feet as everyone sits down in the chairs around the room to watch Mandy, Keith, George and May.

I grab the chair closest to me and plonk my butt down in it. I feel an arm slip around my waist and I know it can only be Bradley. I lean in to the figure, and I'm grateful for the warm, steady heat. Bradley's chest feels harder than it did before, but it's probably just because he's tense, or worried about our performance.

"Relax," I whispered, as the spotlights snapped on to highlight Group One. They began to act, and they were okay. Not too good, as May slipped up. She accidentally kissed George instead of Keith.

Bradley was sitting still behind me, and his arm remained tightly around my waist. They feel more muscular, so different from a little while ago. "I think you're really sweet." I smile in the darkness as I admit I actually like Bradley Higgins.

He doesn't say anything back. "I understand if you're scared about the performance," I say softly, so no one else can hear. "You're great."

He didn't say anything back, but he brought up a hand and brushes the hair off off my forehead. His fingers were cool and soothing, and I instantly wanted more of his touch.

Group One had finished, and Ms. Tenant called up Group Two. "Karmin Blue, Laurel Heath, Marcus Dee and Cato Cerulean!"

The lights shut off again, and Bradley's hand slipped off my waist. Footsteps sound from behind my chair. Heavy ones. The lights snapped on again and Karmin, Cato, Laurel and Marcus stood in the middle.

Karmin looked beautiful as always, one hand on her hip, her sparkly eyes set on Cato. Cato looked pretty much normal, frozen as he laughs with Marcus. Laurel is talking to Karmin, one hand stuck in the air.

But I don't understand. Why did Bradley leave? I look around but it's pitch black. Then I hear his weight in the seat next to me. "Hey, Katniss," he whispers. He takes my hand, and it feels hot, much hotter than before. But I don't care, I just like the fact that he came back. I need someone to hold me.

"Hi, Bradley," I say. I can feel his hot breath as he leans in, and we kiss again. I twist around fully in my seat, and both his hands are on my waist. One of my hands is pressed against his chest and the other is around the back of his neck.

His tongue strokes mine gently and he pulls me even closer. We kiss like that for another two minutes until we both pull back, gasping heavily into the dark air.

"That was awesome." Bradley says. I agree. "I know," I smile, into the darkness of his shirt. Because Mrs. Trinket is using spotlights, we can see the actors but they can't see us. Works for me. Last thing I need is Cato to see me kissing Bradley.

"Simply amazing acting, Cato," Mrs. Trinket trills, striding into the spotlights. "Truly brilliant. Now I can see why Mrs. Ordaccio moved you up!"

Cato smiles broadly, and Karmin lays a hand on his arm. He shrugs away and goes to stand near Marcus.

Whoa - did I just see that?

Cato shrugged Karmin off.

Aren't they an item?

Mrs. Trinket pushes them out of the performance area and presses a button on her remote control that dims the lights.

"Group Three!" she yells . "Katniss Everdeen, Bradley Higgins, Tori Walsh and Brianna Eaton!"

The lights in the middle dim and we all get up and patter silently into the performance area. The light flashes on as we all stand in our poses.

We begin. I sit with Brianna on the floor, pretending to be in a coffee store, crying real tears onto her shoulder over my Frappuccino. "I thought he loved me!" I cry. "But he didn't!" Brianna pats my back awkwardly, taking a pretend sip from her coffee over my shoulder. "Don't worry," she says soothingly. "He's not worth it. He's flirting with Tori Walsh now. Disgusting."

We both look over to Tori and Bradley on the next table, who are falling all over each other. "Let's go to yours," Brianna smiles. So we grab our pretend bags and stroll back to my house, imitating Tori Walsh. You know, flicking our hair over our shoulders with flirty smiles.

When we arrive at my house, the lights dim to indicate night time. Brianna stays overnight at my house and lays down to sleep on the floor in my room.

Just as I'm sliding into bed, there is the sound of stones being thrown at my window. Not really; it's just Tori clicking her tongue.

I get up, worried, and stand by my window. Bradley stands on the other side of my pretend window, whispering, "Katniss! Katniss!" the lights are very dim, so I can barely see anything at all.

"Bradley?" I hiss. "Bradley?" He laughs back at me. "Yeah, it's me." I smile with relief at first, then a scowl fixes itself on my face. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sucking face with Kar - I mean, Tori?"

Bradley looks confused at my slip-up, but recovers brilliantly and replies, "We were never a thing. It's always been me and you."

A blissful smile spreads out across my face. "You mean it? You really, really mean it?" I smile. He nods and takes my hand, climbing slowly through my window.

"Honey, I missed you." I beam at him, and my arms go around his neck. "I missed you too." He pulls me closer and we kiss passionately, our bodies pressed against each other, smiling into the kiss. It goes on for about two more minutes before I pull away and rest my head on his chest. The lights flicker out, and we all stand in a line. The lights shine bright again, and we all bow.

I can't see Cato so I don't know what he thought of the scene. I don't plan to seek him out, either. "Excellent, excellent!" Mrs. Trinket applauds. "Five stars! Offstage!"

We all troop back to our seats. Brianna, Bradley and Tori all sit behind me, and Mrs. Trinket calls out for Peeta, Dawn, Mariah and Toby.

I watch as Peeta acts brilliantly, trying not to slip up at all, but it fails him and he nearly falls head over heels. "Ouch," Brianna says. Tori Walsh sniggers and only shuts up after a thudding sound.

"Sorry about Peeta, Kat," Bradley apologises, and slips an arm around me. I lean back into him. "It's fine. Peeta's a good actor, anyway. He'll do fine."

But Mrs. Trinket doesn't think so. "Mister Mellark, one must be poised! Poised, balanced perfectly, graceful, beautiful, and so much more. Pay attention."

Peeta nods, but he looks like a kicked puppy. I thought that was a little unfair. May messed up too, but she never got the lecture. Oh well.

Mrs. Trinket presses another few buttons on her remote and the room lights up. My eyes flick around the room until they find Cato, sitting alone in a corner reading a book. Karmin is sitting by May, looking forlorn. "End of class!" Mrs. Trinket sings. "You are dismissed!" The break bell sounds.

I'm walking towards Karmin when someone grabs my hand. I turn around. It's Bradley. "Are we dating now?" he asks, and Cato's head snaps up from his book. I don't dare look at him though, I just say to Bradley, "I don't know. Do you want to?" Peeta pats my arm as he passes us on his way out.

Cato is still looking at us. Bradley just takes my other hand and says, "Maybe." Then he kisses me again, and I hear someone clear their throat.

"Katniss," Karmin smiles, "Could we maybe talk?" she sees Bradley and our linked hands, and sends him an apologetic smile. Her usually straight, glossy hair is ruffled and messy now, and she looks frantic. "I'm so sorry. I just need to talk to Katniss for a couple minutes."

Bradley nods and lets go of my hand. Karmin grabs my arm and leads me out of the classroom as everyone leaves. I scoop up my bag as we pass it.

Karmin leads me down the stairwell again and into a corner with a bench. "Sit," she commands me, so I do. She sits down next to me. "I know you like Cato Cerulean," she says, trying not to look me in the eye. "And...I mean, you looked at him like he was the only boy in the world, and, erm, I kissed him. I'm sorry."

Her hands are shaking and she looks aghast. I shrug. "It's fine," I say. "I've got a boyfriend now, it's all good. Bradley Higgins."

Karmin looks shocked. "No!" she squeaks. "No! No offence to Bradley, who is really very sweet, but you like Cato! Cato likes you! UGH! What a mess!" She rubs her forehead with her fingers.

I fiddle with my wooden beaded bracelet, unsure of what she's trying to tell me. She looks agitated. "He...he can't," I mutter. "He hates me now. He saw me with Bradley."

Karmin shakes her head, running a hand through her silky hair. "When I put my arm around him to tell him I wanted to tell him you liked him, he shrugged me off. Then, in the dark, he told me he didn't like me. He said it'd always been about another girl, ever since he laid eyes on her. He didn't give me a chance to explain."

But I remembered their long kiss. "What about you?" I ask sourly. "Your extra long smooch in the middle of class."

She presses a hand to her mouth, horrified. "Oh, Katniss, that's not what you think!" she panics. "Honest! We were just trying to make it look convincing, so I asked him to put a lot of emotion into it..."

"Yeah. I believe you," I say, standing up and grabbing my bag. "Not. You knew I liked him, but you still kissed him."

Her jaw drops and her eyes widen. "That's not true!" I roll my eyes. Well, if Karmin wanted to play dumb, then let her. "I swear! It was only for the grades. We had to. You should understand, you're the best actress! What did you expect me to do, forfeit the class?"

I consider it. "Okay, tell me more." She sighs. "Good. Umm...well, I told him to put more emotion into it. So, you know, we did. Then I said, 'Well, if we kiss like that again, easy A!' and we started laughing."

I remember that. I was watching them laugh. "So then, I planned to tell him you liked him before our performance, but he didn't sit anywhere near me, and I was sitting next to your annoying boyfriend! And he-"

"You know, Karmin, I really have to go, I've got to go find Marianna. Can we talk some other time?" I interrupt.

Karmin's posture sags. "Yeah," she sighs, defeated. So I wave to her before pushing open the stairwell door. Students are all over the place, clutching books and stacks of paper.

I'm supposed to be in Room 18 for English with Peeta, Clove, Madge and Marianna, so that should be good. I power walk down three flights of stairs and across two different hallways before I find the bright red door of Room 18.

Marianna is leaning against the door, which is her exact shade of red. It looks comical. "Oh, good, you're finally here!" she smiles. Peeta is sitting cross-legged on the floor with Madge, and Clove is sharpening her pencil into a very disturbing sharp point.

I walk over to them, standing against the door with Marianna. "So, Peeta here," she smiles at him, and I see his cheeks heat up; "told me you've got a boyfriend!"

I glare at Peeta and he shrinks back. "Thanks a lot, Peeta," I huff. Marianna immediately flies to his rescue. "Leave him alone! Everyone knows about it. Even Glimmer."

Peeta's throat makes a strange sound. "Here she comes." I look up and see Glimmer, speeding towards us. Her green eyes are blazing and her blonde hair is flying out around her. "You!" she snaps, looking at me. "I thought we were friends. Then you've got to go and steal my crush!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I gabble. Glimmer rolls her eyes. "Get a life, Katniss. I drew a picture of him, we liked each other, and-" tears fill her eyes; "-You had to just take him away from me!"

"Slow down," Marianna tells her. "How do you know that Katniss actually wants to date him? Give her a break, Glimmer."

"Oh yeah, I'd gladly break both her legs," Glimmer snarls. Clove throws her scarily pointy pencil to the ground and grabs Glimmer's arm, hauling her away as she screams obscenities.

"Whoa," Peeta smirks. "Talk about the extremes. I thought you liked Cato!" Everyone manages a small laugh at that, but I honestly feel like crying. I do like Cato. I never have liked Bradley Higgins.

This is all so wrong.

"Leave her alone," Marianna tells Peeta, her voice stern. "She's confused, too." Peeta looks at me guiltily, and sighs. "Sorry."

The gong for the end of break sounds, and Mr. Abernathy, our English teacher, pushes open the door and stumbles at our feet. Peeta catches him just in time.

Mr. Haymitch Abernathy is famous in the Capitol and District 12. He was born to a poor family from my area, and trained with his brother every day until the age of sixteen. Then, he entered the Capitol's fighting competition and won the whole thing. His family earned enough money to move to the Capitol, with a big fancy house. But that was years ago.

Now, Haymitch is forty years old and living alone in his big house. His brother sadly died a couple of years ago, and so have his parents. He's all alone, with nothing but liquor to numb the pain.

"Good that you're here," Haymitch says gruffly to Peeta. He tries to steady himself but only ends up falling over again. Marianna clutches his other arm. "Mr. Abernathy! Are you alright?" Marianna chirps frantically.

He smiles at her, all straight white teeth and stubble. "You go on in, I'll be fine. Settle." So we all squeezed past Haymitch and say down.

Marianna sat down next to me, and Peeta sat on her other side. Slowly, the other pupils all came in. "Where are Clove and Glimmer?" Peeta asked worriedly. Marianna scoffed. "Why should you care?" she huffs. Her cheeks are red.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Peeta put his arm around her and whisper into her ear through her thick, beautiful hair. She leans against him, and the mutter away together. I roll my eyes.

Honestly, romance is everywhere.

I feel a sharp stinging sensation on my left shoulder, and when I look up I see a ferocious Glimmer smiling maliciously at me, holding a pencil.

Well, this is going to be one interesting class.

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**Well, that was Chapter 5! Thank you for all your reviews and follows; I feel so happy whenever I get emails!  
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**Please review if you want me to carry on, or else I'll just stop the story. Thanks for reading!  
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**- The Answer Is Love  
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	6. Meeting Finnick Odair

**Hey guys! It's me!**

**I am so, so, SO sorry for how long this update took. But my laptop hasn't been with me and I couldn't update it. I've had this saved on my laptop for a while now!  
**

**The poem and song in this chapter are both written by ME! Tell me if you liked it!  
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**Review or I'll just stop the story.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does. The only characters I own are Karmin and Bradley.  
**

**-The Answer Is Love  
**

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The Baby Project Chapter 6

"What's your problem, Glimmer?" I snap. She looks at me, all wide-eyed and innocent. Her long blonde hair curls around her shoulders in a halo, and she brings up her hand to her mouth. "Oopsy! Accident!"

Clove, who is standing behind her, sniggers. "Yeah," she says, looking up at Glimmer for encouragement. Glimmer nods, and Clove beams happily. Marianna stands up defiantly. She is the same height as Glimmer, which is good, because if I stood up I'd come up to her shoulder and that wouldn't really help with the ferocious angle.

"Leave Katniss alone," she says. "Just go and sit down." Glimmer scowls, but backs off and finds a seat. Everyone knows better than to insult Marianna; she's popular and pretty, with tons of people to back her up. Marianna slips back into her seat, fluffing out her dress across her knees. Peeta leans over to her and whispers, "You do look beautiful today."

She blushes a sweet pink and says, "Thank you, Peeta. You too. Nice shoes." Peeta flushes and I look down at his footwear. They still have mud on them. Marianna must be lovesick. Mr. Abernathy shuffles up to the front of the class, his suit and tie grubby. "Morning, class," he barks.

"Morning, Mr. Abernathy!" Marianna chirps. She turns around, but no one else says it with her. "I think we're all still half asleep," I laugh into her ear. Mr. Abernathy nods a thank you at Marianna. "Today we will be studying poetry."

Madge slips into her seat, on the table behind us. Marianna sends her a wave, and she waves back. Her right arm up to her elbow is covered in sparkly purple eyeshadow; identical to the one Glimmer is wearing today.

Mr. Abernathy hands out sheets of paper to us all, with pencils and pens for anyone who wants them. Peeta gets to work straight away, scrawling lines and lines of soppy romantic words. Marianna sits there cutely, chewing her pen, staring at the sheet of paper. I look around the class. Everyone is writing, and the sound of pens scratching on rough paper fills the room.

"Not sure what to write?" Peeta asks me. I shake my head, and smile at him. He smiles back. "Try…describing the person you love. Not in any old way. Like you're telling someone how beautiful they are." I roll my eyes.

"Peeta, if you're going to talk about her like that, you might as well just ask her out right now." Peeta slaps a hand over my mouth, but not quickly enough and Marianna looks at us suspiciously. "What are you talking about?" she asks, voice wavering. I shrug, and Peeta groans. "Just…the designs for his dream house. Pink walls."

I hear a snort, and look behind me to see Madge shaking with silent laughter. "Pink walls? Really, Peeta? I always knew you had a soft spot for girly things!" Poor Peeta shrinks back in his seat as we all laugh at him. "No, no, that's not it," I giggle.

_Wow. I giggled. What's wrong with me?_

"-but Peeta was just talking about asking Marianna out."

Peeta's jaw drops and he turns a bright shade of pink. "I-I-I didn't say that," he stutters. "So, what, are you saying you don't have a crush on Marianna?" Madge asks, raising an eyebrow. Peeta looks like he's about to explode. "Um, no, I never said that!" he cries desperately. But Marianna sets her pen down on the desk and says, "I wouldn't mind if we went out, Peeta. In fact, I think I'd like it. I like you."

Peeta stares at her open mouthed, before leaning over and kissing her cheek lightly. Marianna freezes, but touches her cheek gently, exactly where Peeta kissed it. Madge wolf whistles, but the sound is barely heard in the loud chatter of our classroom.

Marianna winks at Peeta before picking up her pencil again and sketching a border of hearts and stars around her paper. Peeta winks flirtatiously back, before snatching his pencil up and quickly scribbling another few lines down.

Mr. Abernathy slouches in his desk chair, holding a bottle of alcohol. There are piles of paper surrounding the desk, and his tie is coming undone. The stubble on his face looks rough and scratchy. All in all, Mr. Abernathy needs a good scrubbing.

I grab my paper and stand up, shuffling over to him. "Hello, Katniss," he says gruffly, screwing the cap onto the liquor bottle and stowing it away under the desk. "How can I help you?" I place the blank sheet of paper on the desk.

"I don't know what to write," I say sourly. "I have no ideas, or anything. I mean everyone else- they all have stuff written down, but my head is empty. I have nothing." I sigh, and he eyes me warily. "Do you read poetry, Katniss?" he asks. "It can really give you ideas. Peeta reads modern day poetry regularly, as does Marianna."

I stamp my foot on the ground. "No! I don't!" I growl. "And I don't plan on it either. Love is messy." Then he snaps his fingers. "Think, Everdeen. _Think. _Love is messy." I realise what he means and scramble back to my seat, grabbing my pen and scribbling furiously onto my sheet.

_Love is messy_

_That's just what it is._

_A mess of feelings,_

_So hard to deal with._

_You try your best, to no avail_

_When all you really do is fail._

I sit back, satisfied with my work. Peeta leans over my shoulder to take a look. He nods approvingly. "That's great," he says. "Mari, come look." Marianna gets up and stands behind me, her hands on my shoulders, bent over. "That sounds beautiful," she sighs. "Oh, Peeta, you wouldn't write me a poem, would you?" There is a loud slap sound and Marianna stands up, poker-straight. "Sorry, but you deserved it," Madge says. "Your butt was showing!"

Mari laughs, and runs her hand along Peeta's hair. "Can I read your poem, Peeta?" she asks sweetly. "Since we're dating." He gulps and hands her the sheet, which she takes from him, careful not to crease the paper. While she's reading, Peeta twiddles his thumbs anxiously.

I slap his leg quickly. "Peeta," I hiss. "Check her out in your private time. You're drooling." He wipes it away quickly and takes the sheet back from Marianna. Madge bends down and swipes the baby doll from Peeta's backpack, which is lying open on the floor. "What did you name him?" she asks, turning the baby doll round in her hand, examining every inch of the rubbery skin.

"Chris," Mari pipes up. "Peeta wanted Emily, but it's so obviously a boy." Peeta blushes whilst we all snigger at him. "Pass me your baby," I say to Madge. She rummages around in her bag and pulls out her doll. The hat is missing and the doll is covered in sparkly makeup.

"What_ is _this?" I wonder, wrinkling my nose. My jeans are covered in it from laying the baby on my lap. Madge leans in, and Peeta and Marianna strain their ears to listen. "Glimmer's eyeshadow," she whispers. "She was being so mean, it's all her fault. So when you guys were sitting down, she left her bag at her desk. So I opened her eyeshadow up, and sprinkled it all over her things."

I know it was wrong, but I began to laugh with as I imagined Glimmer's shocked, disgusted face when she discovered her designer tote was turned into a total nightmare. Marianna tickles Madge's baby under its little plastic arms. "What'd you call him?"

"Gale named him Tony," she groans. "_Tony_. Of all names, he chose _Tony_."

"What about you, Katniss?" Peeta queries, but his question is lost as a loud, anguished cry fills the room.

We all whip our heads round to find Glimmer, holding her tote, one hand coated in glittery purple muck. "My_ tote_!" she wails. "My beautiful, amazing tote! It's ruined!" Madge hurriedly wipes off her arms on her skirt before Glimmer races towards me and pulls my braid back. A sharp pain prickles through my scalp. "Hey! What did she do?" Marianna shouts, springing to her feet. Glimmer snatches her tote up and holds it out right under Marianna's nose. "This," she sneered. "This cost more than everything you own put together!"

She swivels around, holding the bag out, and our whole class scramble out of their chairs to look. "Who did it?" someone asks. Glimmer points her manicured index finger at me, green eyes glinting. "_She_ did. Katniss Everdeen."

Mr. Abernathy bursts into the middle of the circle, accidentally colliding with Glimmer. She squeaks and pushes him off of her. "What's going on here?" he slurs, looking around at us with glassy grey eyes. Glimmer jumps up and down in the air like a frog. A sparkly, annoying frog. "Katniss Everdeen ruined my tote!" she cries. Mr. Abernathy holds out his hand, and Glimmer hands him her tote. He peers inside. "It's not broken or ripped," he says. "Put it in the wash."

He hands it back to Glimmer, whose mouth is open wide. "You don't put it in the wash!" she barks. "It's _leather_. Genuine leather!" But Mr. Abernathy waves his hand at her and tells everyone to go back to their seats. Marianna and Peeta slip their arms around me and guide me back to my seat. Madge is white in the face.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," she says hollowly. "Katniss, I'm sorry. I'll tell her it was me. I feel so awful now." But I shake my head.

"No, you don't need to tell her anything. It's fine."

For the rest of English class, I sit silently in my seat until everyone gets up to go to lunch. "Come on, you look like you need a cookie," Marianna says sympathetically, helping Peeta pull me out of my chair. As a four, me, Marianna, Peeta and Madge, we troop into the lunch hall and grab trays.

"What are you going to get, guys?" Marianna asks. I shrug, and Peeta is looking at the food on display. I slide a bowl of fruit onto my tray, and select a bottle of still mineral water. Marianna and Peeta look shocked. "Aren't you going to get any _real_ food?" she gasps, grabbing a plate of macaroni cheese. The cheese drips off the noodles, looking mouth-wateringly delicious, but I shake my head.

"I'm just eating light today," I mutter. I pay for my food and sit down at our usual table. Annie Cresta, a quiet, dark-haired girl, sits alone at the table, reading a book and holding an apple in her left hand. She looks up as I set my tray down. "Hello, Katniss," she says timidly, plopping her book down and taking a neat little bite out of her apple.

Annie Cresta is beautiful. She has long dark hair that ends just under her shoulder blades, and she is small and slender. Her eyes are a thrilling green and her smile is kind and friendly. I don't know why nobody wants to talk to her.

"Hey, Annie," I smile, sliding into the bench seat. I pick up my fork and spear a grape on one of the prongs. Annie's button nose wrinkles in distaste. "Rabbit food?" she sniffs. "Katniss, you're as thin as anything. What are you doing?" I shrug, craning my neck to look around the cafeteria as Peeta and Marianna arrive, plonking their trays down.

"What are you looking for?" Mari asks. "That looks uncomfortable." As her and Peeta pick up their forks and start to eat, I spot him. Sitting at a packed table with about ten other boys, laughing and joking over a plate of pasta salad. The jerk.

I stand up, but before Annie, Peeta or Marianna can grab me, I snatch the doll out of my bag and march up to Cato. His group falls silent as they study me.

I know I look bad, I'm not stupid. My short blue ruffled skirt ends just above my knees, and my white blouse isn't exactly white. My hair is in a messy plait over my left shoulder, with my white baseball boots looking considerably scruffy.

Cato is staring at me with his lips parted, fork frozen in mid-air. His pasta fell off about two seconds ago, but I don't think he's noticed. Next to him sits a dazzlingly beautiful boy, with shiny sea-green eyes and a bright white dazzling smile. He has smooth, straight, slightly long bronze hair and his arms are toned, bulging out of his white shirt. He is muscular, but not as muscular as Cato.

"Well, hello," he smiles, those sea-green eyes lighting up. "Cato was just talking about you, weren't you, Cato? Katniss Everdeen?" Cato elbows him, and a lanky boy with dark brown hair laughs, "Yeah, he was! She's gorgeous. Hey, why is she holding a baby doll?"

"Shut up, Marvel," Cato barks. He opens his mouth to say something again, but a toned dark-haired boy with grey eyes decides to butt in too. "Her and Cato made it," he snorts through a mouthful of bread. The bronze-haired boy's muscles tense and the dark-haired boy cries out in pain. I guess he kicked him.

"Let her speak," he says curtly. He nods at me. "Go ahead." I smile back at him, before dumping the doll on the table next to Cato's tray. "Name it," I snap. "And it's your turn to take care of it." I turn away, to return to my table, but a strong hand grabs my arm. I whip around to see Cato.

"Why are you doing this?" he hisses, his eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with you? You are _not_ the girl I thought you were!" I shake his hand off harshly.

"What a coincidence, because you're not the boy I thought you were," I say. "Karmin? You? Does that ring any bells?" The colour drains out of his face and I stomp away, grabbing my bag from next to Annie and pushing open the cafeteria doors. I push through crowds of people until I reach the exit.

I can hear shouts of "Hey, wait! Katniss!" and "KATNISS come back!" but I carried on, sprinting over to the trees where nobody can see me. I'm fast; nobody can catch up to me. I keep on running, through thick, dense trees, and after a while I plop myself down at the trunk of a tree in a secret clearing, and lean my head back on the scratchy, rough bark.

My breath is catching in my throat and I feel like bursting into tears but I know I can't. I pull Cato's sketch out of my bag, crossing my legs underneath me. My eyes fly over the paper, taking in his tender pink lips, defined jaw, smooth, flawless skin, and his brilliant blue eyes. I run my fingers carefully over the rough surface, imagining stroking his cheek lovingly.

I hear a scuffling sound and turn around to see the bronze-haired boy walking through the trees muttering, "Girl on fire…girl on fire…" His face lights up when he sees me. "Well, hello, girl on fire! I thought I saw you run this way. You're quite a speedy little thing, now aren't you?"

I blush hotly, clutching the drawing of Cato to my chest. "I'm the fastest girl in the school," I say stoutly, as the bronze-haired boy walks towards me slowly. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Finnick Odair," he grins, bowing down in front of me, ruffling his bronze hair. "Call me Finnick. Now, do my eyes deceive me or is that a drawing of Cato?"

I stuff the drawing into my bag hurriedly as Finnick makes a lunge towards it. "No! You can't look!" I say desperately. Finnick looks startled, but backs off. He lies back on the grassy floor, the lush green vibrant against his hair. "Cato likes you, you know," he says, winking up at me. I lie down next to him, throwing my bag to the side.

"I like him too," I say quietly. Finnick turns to face me.

"I knew that already," he smiles, looking pleased with himself. "I'm smart."

I laugh at his sparkly white smile. "I knew it from the moment I first saw him. But he had other dies. And by other ideas, I mean Karmin Blue."

Finnick starts laughing uncontrollably, rolling round and round on the grass, the blades collecting on his crisp white shirt. "Stop it. Finnick, stop it!" He stops obediently, but his sea green eyes are bright. "Karmin doesn't like Cato!" he howls, clutching at his rib cage. "She has a _boyfriend_! Oh, girl on fire, you're hilarious, you know that!"

My cheeks flush crimson and I sit up, biting down hard on my bottom lip. "I knew that," I mutter coldly. "So why did Cato kiss her?"

"He obviously doesn't want to fail the class, Katniss. By refusing to kiss Karmin he would've been kicked out, and you know it."

"I wish you were just…_wrong_ for once!" I burst out randomly. Finnick smiles, a small, crooked grin. "Oh, believe me, girl on fire. I'm wrong more than I am right."

I want to know what he means, but I don't want to push him. So I go for an easier question. "Why do you call me…girl on fire?"

Finnick smiles again, picking a few blades of grass off of his pristine shirt. "You have fire in you. Nobody stands up to Cato, fire girl. Nobody. I mean, sure, he's not mean or anything, but those bulging muscles and intimidating stare? No way. I admire you for that. You sure told him."

"I guess I did," I laugh. The bell for lunch goes, and too late I realise that I've spent my whole lunch talking to the gorgeous Finnick Odair. "Whoops, there goes the bell." He says. He stands up and extends a hand out to me. "You aren't half bad, Finnick Odair," I say. He nods back at me. "Likewise, girl on fire."

We walk back to school for our last lesson of the day, laughing and joking about Cato.

We make it back with thirty seconds to the bell. Finnick runs off to the west side of the school for a Biology class, and I hurriedly make my way to Music. My only friends in that class are Rue and Peeta, since I don't count Glimmer now and the rest of the class are leggy, modellish girls who think they can sing but really carry off performances by shaking their hair about and wiggling their hips.

"Katniss is here!" Rue exclaims as I push open the heavy green door. Peeta grabs my arm and pulls a chair out for me. I sit down next to Rue, behind Peeta. "Finally Katniss Everdeen shows up," a pretty, vicious girl called Enobaria hisses. " I was beginning to think she went out to shoot her lunch."

Glimmer, Enobaria, and a boy and a girl called Gloss and Cashmere start laughing and giggling like it's the funniest thing they've ever heard. "Shut it, Enobaria," Peeta snaps. "Leave Katniss alone." Enobaria just rolls her eyes. She never backs down from a fight. "Why? Are you screwing her now, Peeta? Is that it?" She throws her head back and cackles, and the rest of the group throw in assorted chuckles too.

But I yank Rue and Peeta out of their seats to find musical instruments. Everyone has got up and grabbed one to play with for the rest of the lesson. Peeta fetches his glossy guitar from its case and Rue grabs a violin. I decide to sing.

We leaf through books of songs and Rue checks some up on the computer. But we can't find anything, and so Rue and Peeta whip out pencils and paper to write some lyrics on. Peeta obliges with four lines of lyrics, and Rue manages to write two, but I finish the whole song, even adding in some musical notes.

_You have those amazing eyes,_

_They're so blue_

_All the other girls trip over themselves for you_

_You've got it all_

_And you still don't know it._

_I know I'm falling for you,_

_Trying so hard to forget because I know it's true,_

_And I'm falling for you_

_I think I need a doctor_

_Because I fell, fell, fell, fell down for you._

Rue and Peeta clap their hands excitedly, and get me to sing the tune. I happily oblige and sing them loudly and clearly. The whole music room turns around to listen, even Enobaria's group. Gloss's mouth is wide open.

But we pretend we haven't noticed, and carry on singing and strumming. Rue plays a long, sweeping solo on her violin and Peeta and I sway along to it, laughing in hysterics.

The bell goes for the end of the lesson, and I hug Rue and Peeta goodbye. I hop, skip and jump happily down the stairs, knowing it's a good way to end the day. All the other kids look at me like I've gone crazy, and maybe I have. But it's good to forget about him, for once.

"Katniss! Girl on fire!"

Oh, _great_.

I turn around, and Finnick is running up to me. Behind him is Cato, Marvel, and Gale. "I had fun today," he smiles. He takes my hand and kisses it, making me giggle a little. My cheeks flush pink. "We should talk again, agreed?" I nod clumsily, sneaking a look at Cato as he lets go of my hand. Cato does not look impressed. His jaw is set and his fists are clenched. His blue eyes stare at me, cold and icy. For once, I don't care.

Finnick hugs me and I bang against pure, hard muscle. Nothing else. He whispers one more goodbye into my ear before hurrying off. I turn around, forcing myself not to look at Cato, and rush to the spot where I know I will find Prim.

Prim is standing there, eagerly looking out for someone. When she sees me, she looks dismayed, but still smiles valiantly. "Hiya, Katniss!" she squeaks, craning her neck around me to look around. "Hi, Prim," I reply. I turn around to see what she's looking at as a flash of blond quickly darts round the corner of the hallway. I know who it is, and clearly Prim does too. So I grab her hand and yank her out of the school.

None of us say a word for the whole walk home. And for once, I'm glad.

I have too many problems to deal with.

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**I hope you liked it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review, you have no idea how happy it makes me and plus, if I don't get any I'll just stop the story.**

**I love you all!  
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**-The Answer Is Love  
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	7. Oh, hey Cato!

**Hello again! I'm trying to update more often now, so this is quite a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it. There's more Catoniss, YAY! I know you guys were wondering about Bradley Higgins and I was considering bringing Bradley into the clearing instead of Finnick, but I'm a total Odair fangirl and I knew it had to be Finnick himself. Bradley is mentioned in this chapter and he'll be in the next one too, so don't worry.**

**Tell me if you liked this update!  
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**Review or no updates! Sorry but that's just the way it is. Otherwise I have no motivation. Writer problems.  
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**Brace yourself for more Catoniss...  
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**-The Answer Is Love  
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The Baby Project Chapter 7

As soon as we got home, Prim set her schoolbag down on the floor next to the coat rack and ran up to her room, stifling a sob. I already had an idea that she was crying because she couldn't see Cato. I set my bag down next to hers, and went to my room to change. I reached out for the beaten brass doorknob, and pushed the door open slowly. My bedroom door is coated in flaky green paint, peeling off at the edges, and a few flakes chip off and fly into my face along with the drought.

Rifling through my wardrobe, I find a tight black t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. Throwing my clothes carelessly down onto the floor, I pad out into the kitchen to grab a snack. Prim is holding her mobile phone in her hands, smiling at the screen. I ignore her and cross over to the fridge, pulling out a pack of cherry tomatoes and coriander. Prim watches me carefully. She knows whatt I'm making. Our mother used to cook amazing tomato and coriander soup when I was younger, and all the other kids in our neighbourhood used to wait on the back porch for a bowl.

It was that good.

_We_ were that good.

Prim fetches a large pot from the cupboard and fills it with some water. I lay out a chopping board and two knives, and together we chop up all the tomatoes. "Katniss…do you…have feelings for Cato?" ashe asks timidly. I sigh, tipping the sliced tomatoes into the pot. The water is boiling.

"I think so," I answer quietly. "But he doesn't like me. Forget about it. Let's just forget about him for now. He's…he's nothing to me." Prim opens her mouth as if to say something, but thinks better of it and shuts her mouth. We stir in all the tomatoes, add more water, and sprinkle coriander over the top before clapping the lid on top.

I sit down at the kitchen table, drumming my fingers on the scratched surface. The garden door, which is around the corner from the kitchen, Prim sits opposite me, keeping a careful eye on the pot of soup. "How was school today?" I ask tentatively, scratching the back of my neck. Prim's eyes light up, and she goes on and on and on about how her and her friend Georgia exploded an experiment in Science class, like it's the best thing that has ever happened to her. And, well, maybe it is.

Our mother comes through the door just as the phone rings. I spring to my feet to answer it, but Prim dashes past me, surprisingly fast on her small feet. Mother laughs and sniffs the air. "Very nice," she says approvingly. "Soup, is it?" I nod speechlessly as my little sister says a few quick words into the phone and carries it upstairs, laughing delightedly.

"It's probably just some boy," our mother says, following my eyes. "We always knew our Primrose would break hearts someday." The way she says it is like I'm the one they knew nobody would love. Ironically, Cato probably likes my sister more. But if he tries to get his hands on my baby sister, I'll snap his neck. And no, I'm not kidding.

Steam rises up from the pot's sides, and I run over to the cabinet and take out three small bowls. Ladling a generous helping of soup into each bowl, I call Prim down. She returns clutching the phone, cheeks pink. She obediently takes the bowl I hand to her, and sits down at the table, daintily sipping at it.

I have just passed the bowl to our mother when the phone rings again. Prim stays sitting this time, looking up at me with those beautiful blue eyes. Sighing, I grab the phone. It's Bradley.

"Hey Katty," he says, and I can almost hear his grin from down the phone. "How're you doing, honey?"

I mentally cringe, holding the phone away from my ear. "Hello," I mutter. He laughs down the phone, and it hurts my ears. I can feel my brain pulsing. "What's up with you? Come on, Katty, talk to your boyfriend."

I clench the phone in my hand, using all my strength not to throw it at the wall. "Listen, I have to go. I really, really have to go. Homework."

"Huh?" he asks, confused. "Homework for what? Maybe I could come over and help you, would that be okay? Yeah?"

"_No_! No! Umm…I'm good. Just…bathing."

"_Bathing_? I thought you were doing homework."

"Well, I'm bathing! Doing homework in the bathtub!"

"Okay…Katniss, you're really weird."

"Maybe we should reconsider our relationship, okay then bye!"

I hang up the phone in a split second, ignoring Bradley's pleads. I turn around to see my mother and Prim, mouths wide open. I shrug and say, "Hey! Bradley had to go milk his cow, so we said goodbye."

I march straight past them and serve myself some soup, letting the tomato run across my tongue, the coriander adding a sharper taste. Prim passes me the pepper shaker and I sprinkle on a few grains, shovelling the rest of the soup into my mouth. I collect everyone's dishes and wash them up, Prim behind me catching the bubbles from the washing-up liquid, popping them happily.

After drying the bowls, I pad down the hallways to my room to find something to pass the time. I end up cleaning, scrubbing the windows with window spray and vacuuming the carpet, folding all my clothes up and hanging them on hangers. Half of my wardrobe is still empty, seeing as I don't have many clothes, but at least it's tidy.

I rearrange all the papers on my desk, polishing the surface with a tin of mahogany polish my mother gave me on my birthday. The desk is old; second hand and cheap, but it's part of our family now and I love it with all my heart.

I can hear my mother and Prim laughing and joking in the kitchen for a while before my mother comes in, knocking timidly on the door. "Hi, honey," she says cautiously, looking around. "The room looks good. You've always been a tidy girl."

She sits down on my bed and looks around warily, and I don't know what's happening. "I think it's time…we talked about _boys_, Katniss," she says, her mouth widening to emphasize the word "boys". Now I know what's coming, and my cheeks flare up. I can feel my entire body get hotter.

"No, mother, it's fine, I really don't need to hear anything-"

"When a teenage girl and boy develop, they start to grow…_feelings_ for each other."

"Oh, come on, stop!"

"They're beginning to want to…_do_ things with each other. I can't stop you from doing what you want, but _please_ think about it and make sure you love him."

"Oh my…mother, I'm not in love with Bradley, otherwise I wouldn't have told him I had to go!"

My mother looks confused, and her nose wrinkles up, just like Prim's does. "I'm not talking about a Bradley, I'm talking about that Cato. Prim was telling me more about him. Since you were screaming his name last night I thought you liked him."

I facepalm, exasperated. My mother knows about Cato, I forgot. Damn.

"Bradley's just…in the middle of it all. I feel guilty about it. He's kind of the rebound. I want to break up with him, but you know I can't. I like Cato. It's about him. It's always been about Cato, for me."

My mother pats me on the back sympathetically, and walks out, leaving me sitting there. I dig out a couple of notebooks from under my bed and doodle on them, whittling away time little by little.

I draw a sunset, a hill, a picnic blanket. On top of it, from the skyward view, a girl with long dark hair, loose instead of braided, fanned out under her. Next to her lies a blond boy, with gorgeous blue eyes and defined muscles. She's looking up at the sky, admiring the clouds even, but he's facing her sideways, eyes carefully watching her. Their hands are linked in the middle, her left and his right, and they're both smiling. Silly, happy smiles.

That's how we should be.

Instead, I want Cato, but Cato doesn't want me. Bradley wants me, but Glimmer wants Bradley. Finnick just pops up in the middle of it all.

See how complicated my life is.

I lie back on my bed, imagining Cato next to me, smiling like we were on the picnic blanket in the hills. Eventually, I fall asleep.

I wake up to total darkness. There is a blanket pulled over me, and a bowl of lamb stew sitting on the dresser. It's stone cold, but I eat it quickly and sit up. Squinting at the clock on my bedroom wall, it's a little past midnight.

The house is freezing, and I can hear Prim's soft snoring through the thin walls. Shadows leap out at me from every corner as I sit still, the room growing darker every second.

Little, harmless shadows, like my wardrobe, desk tidy and cabinet, who seem normal during the day, are blown up and terrifying at night. I cautiously stand up and walk down the hall, not feeling sleepy at all.

I hear a tinkling sound from the back door which connects to the kitchen, and immediately jump up in fright. Then I hear a quiet, soft knock. Creeping around the kitchen wall, I hide as the person knocks again. Judging by the shadow, they are tall, with hair that spikes upwards.

"Prim? Katniss?" the person asks.

The person sounds unbelievably like…

Cato.

_Cato_?

Cato!

Why is _Cato_ at my back door?

"Is that you, Cato?" I whisper. I hear a short laugh, then,

"Yeah, it's me. How many people do you know that talk like this?" Rolling my eyes, I twist the key and open the door. As soon as I see him, I gasp and nearly faint, falling backwards. Cato's arms wrap around my waist quickly, carefully holding me close to him.

He has a huge black eye, and his hair is dishevelled and ruffled. He looks weak an exhausted. He's smiling at me, but it isn't a proper smile and I honestly want to cry. I pull him in and shut the door, sitting him down at the kitchen table. I switch on the light and stare at him in despair, the beautiful strong guy I saw now down to a bruised, hurt little boy.

"What happened to you?" I ask, running my fingers over his bruises gently and inspecting his black eye carefully. He shrugs, and I plonk myself into the seat opposite him. "Parents," he says softly. "Just parents."

My eyes are hot and stinging, and I can feel tears rolling down my cheeks. I bat them away fiercely. "Why would they do this to you?" His eyes flash, and I can see the tears collecting in his perfect blue eyes.

"Don't cry," he says gently. "It's not worth it."

"Then what about you?" I say weakly, trying to smile. "How could they treat you like this, Cato? How long has it been going on?" He fiddles with the sleeves on his jacket, avoiding my eyes. "Ever since I turned seven," he says. "We moved because back in District 2, they found out I was abused. It's not…it's not allowed. So I had to come here. Had to. It's been eating me up, though. Prim is the only other one who knows, aside from you."

His arms are outstretched in front of him on the table, and I grab his hand, holding it tightly. "I heard you and Prim, talking," I say thickly, tears running freely down my cheeks as I drop our linked hands back onto the table. Cato reaches across and brushes the tears off my cheekbones. "And, she, was talking about how your bruises were healing, and you said you had to get home early that night."

He nods, and winces as it stretches the skin around his black eye. "My parents…they make me work. A lot. Training. I got beat up badly when I was six. The kid's dad was my own dad's enemy from school, so when I got knocked out by this kid my dad was mad. Mad as anything. He beat me again when we got home and made me train so it wouldn't happen again. I beat that kid again when I was eleven, sure, but my shirt got torn off in the fight and everyone saw all the bruises. My dad had to get me out of there, quick. My mom was never one for all the training, she just hurt me when it suited her, when she had nothing to vent her anger out on."

I pat the chair next to me, and he sits there, wrapping an arm around my waist. I lean my head onto his shoulder, but jump up again when I remember his bruises. "Does it hurt?" I ask, gingerly, touching his bruises. He smiles.

"I can't even notice the pain when you're here."

I smile then, and look down at my knees, my cheeks burning hot. "How did you know Prim?" I ask, both arms around his torso and my head on his shoulder. His arm is around my waist, his heartbeat strong. "I was in the bathroom cleaning this cut that had started bleeding again on my neck, my dad gave it to me after he said I hit like a girl. Yeah, and when I came out she was standing there, all alone, probably waiting for you. So she asked me how I got it, and I was just at breaking point, so I spilt everything. Everything, to this little girl I'd only just met. So then, she asks me if I had any more bruises. I lifted up my shirt and showed her, and she met me in your garden once a week after that to heal me. She's golden, your little sister. A total angel."

I laugh, pressing my face into his shoulder. "Shall I get Prim?" I ask, getting ready to move, but he pulls me back down into his arms. "Don't go yet," he says, his voice muffled into my hair. "I just wanted to tell you something. Remember that kiss? The one you asked me about? With Karmin?"

I stiffen and sit up, but he stops me and wraps his arms tightly around me. "No, no, don't. Don't go. I was just going to say, we didn't mean anything. It meant nothing. It wa just for the scene. Karmin said it would be an easy A, and I don't want to fail."

"She did tell me that," I admit, looking up at him. Even with his black eye, he still looks beautiful. I reach up and stroke his cheek. His eyes shut and he breathes heavily. His skin feels just as I'd imagined it, smooth and soft. Perfect.

Well, Cato Cerulean was perfection.

"She told me yesterday. I wasn't sure if I believed her or not, it was hard to tell."

"But you trust me, don't you?" he asks, smiling a little.

"Yeah, I do." I smile back.

He clears his throat, and I tighten my grip around his waist a little. "What's wrong?" He smiles down at me. "I'm holding you just like I was last time," he says. I sit up poker-straight, and jab a finger into his chest. "What do you _mean,_ _last time_?" I hiss. Then I see the look of pain on his face, and instantly rub the spot I'd just poked. He must be dotted with bruises. "Oh God, Cato, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," he says. "But it was in Drama class, Room 186. I sat behind you, my arm aaround your waist. I think you thought I was Bradley."

I think back to that moment.

"_Bradley was sitting still behind me, and his arm remained tightly around my waist. They feel more muscular, so different from a little while ago. "I think you're really sweet." I smile in the darkness as I admit I actually like Bradley Higgins._

_He doesn't say anything back. "I understand if you're scared about the performance," I say softly, so no one else can hear. "You're great."_

_He didn't say anything back, but he brought up a hand and brushes the hair off off my forehead. His fingers were cool and soothing, and I instantly wanted more of his touch."_

"It was you!" I gasp in disbelief. I clutch at his hand, gripping it tightly, and discover that his fingers are long and cool. Bradley's are hot. "It was you. You were the one that brushed my hair off my forehead and made me feel safe. I should have known. Bradley wasn't muscular!"

I sigh in exasperation and lay my head against his chest, muttering, "I thought I'd kissed that amazing boy who made me feel loved whenever I was in his arms. I was with the wrong person. I wanted you, this whole time."

He blinks and looks into my eyes, and we both lean in. I can just smell his sweet, strong, masculine cologne, and feel the heat of his lips just as someone says, "Goodness! _Katniss Everdeen, what on earth do you think you're doing_?"

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**Thanks for reading, this is the most successful story I have ever written. It means a lot to me that people actually care for my writing. Please please please review for me! They make me so happy! The more reviews I get, the faster the updates come.  
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**Tell me what parts you liked, and if you have any problems with it PM me!  
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**- The Answer Is Love  
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	8. Prim the Healer

**Hey guys! It's been a while, and yes I am ashamed. :(**

**But this is the next chapter for you, and I've tried hard! The amount of homework I get is really, really annoying and I had two tests today. So please forgive me for denying you Catoniss shippers of your weekly dose of Catoniss.**

**Here's the next chapter...enjoy, and please review!  
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**-The Answer Is Love  
**

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The Baby Project Chapter 8

Instantly, Cato and I both freeze. His arm is still around my waist and both my arms are still around his upper body, twisted sideways to face each other. My mother is standing in the kitchen doorway, Prim peeking out from behind her back. They both look startled, blonde hair sticking out at all angles.

But Prim squeals "Cato!" and runs up to him, hugging him tightly. He lets go of me and hugs her back, standing up. I stand up too and send my mother a look that means "Could you have maybe arrived ten minutes later?" and introduce Cato to her.

"Mother, this is Cato," I say, waving a hand towards Cato. He looks even worse under the harsh light. Bruised and shattered. There is a light of recognition in my mother's eyes when she hears the name "Cato". She knows it's the boy I talk about. "Oh! I see! Cato, I have heard so much about you. Katniss talks about you all the time, don't you Katniss? Why don't you sit down and we'll check out your eye?"

I lead Cato back to the chair and pull off his jacket, gasping at the bruises that dot his toned arms. Prim runs her fingers over them lightly, whispering, "Maybe a week to heal at least…hmmm…" Cato just looks into my eyes, leans over and whispers, "Please don't tell anyone. Please. I'll have to move again." I just wrap my arms around his neck and hug him close, eyes shut. He smells of grass and fresh air, as well as the crisp scent of expensive cologne.

Prim hurries off to fetch herbs and a medical kit, and my mother goes to help, leaving us alone in the kitchen. I sit holding on to Cato, his skin freezing cold. I run my hands up and down his arms, trying to warm him up. "This is such a mess," I say weakly, leaning into him. He looks down at me, a small smile gracing his features. "How?" he asks. "You're here. Doesn't get any better than that."

I laugh at his cheesy line. "Oh, it does. But that's not the point. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow." I gulp, and he catches on. He's smart, sure.

"Oh, that Bradley kid." His jaw tightens, and I place a hand on his bicep.

"I don't know what to do about him. He called me earlier, and he's nicknamed me. _Katty_, would you believe it?"

We both collapse in laughter, him sniggering and me laughing so hard my lungs hurt. "Oh, man. _Katty? _ You're right, this is a mess." Sighing contentedly, we leaned against each other. "You're going to break up with him though, right?"

I don't miss a beat. "Oh, of course. Just not now."

He looks at me, confused. "Well, why not?"

I roll my eyes. "Cato, I can't go out with him for one day then dump him the next, that's wrong. But I will dump him soon."

He nods slowly, then suddenly he asks, "Do you…like…Finnick? Finnick Odair?" His blue eyes are bright, but his voice is flat.

"No," I say. "He's really flirty, though. I like him, I think he's cool. But I don't feel for him the same way I feel for you."

The corner of his mouth twitches up, and Prim hurries back in with bandages and an armful of herbs. My mother places a pot of hot water on the table and asks Cato to remove his shirt. He pulls it off, over his head, and I'm in shock and awe.

He has a perfect, toned, muscular body, with a V-line leading down into his jeans. He's covered in bruises, and I have no doubt that there are more, but he's gorgeous. Prim seems unfazed, but he catches my eye and grins, flexing his muscles arrogantly. I try to keep a straight face but I can't stop myself from laughing.

Prim looks surprised, as if she didn't know I had it in me to laugh. My mother leads Cato over to a chair and asks him how he got the bruises. He recites the story again, his icy eyes never once leaving mine. Prim tosses the herbs into the hot water and stirs, adding herbal syrup and other random ingredients.

"Poor boy," my mother says sadly, hands on her hips. "Someone should give that father of yours a good whack across the head. Awful, awful, just awful!" Cato smiles weakly up at her, even managing a laugh. "That'd be a pleasure to watch, but no one knows about this and I have to keep it that way. There's no other option."

I stand back, watching Prim, but Cato's deep voice cuts through all my thoughts until he's the only thing I can think of.

Prim dips bandages in the herbal mixture and hands them to my mother, who wraps them around Cato's arms carefully. My mother wraps them around his arm securely, while Prim continues dipping them. Prim asks me to lift up a long bandage, at least a metre long, for Cato's middle. I dip it into the pot with her while my mother talks to Cato about school.

"How are your grades, Cato?"

"Oh, excellent. Top, mostly."

"Amazing! What are your career choices in the future?"

"Finance."

"Brilliant! Are you close with my daughter?"

He looks over at me, and catches my eye successfully. He manages a small smile and says, "Not as close as I'd like to be."

Prim drops the bandage into the herbal mix with a _plop! _ And squeals, "Awww!" I blush crimson and fish the bandage out, bringing it over to Cato and my mother. His arms are wrapped up neatly.

My mother leans over and whispers into my ear, "I think it's better if you do this one, Katniss." I gulp audibly, and ask Cato to stand up. I place the bandage on his hip, and wrap it around tightly from there. My arms reach behind his back, and bring it round again. His eyes are on me the whole time, and when the bandaging is done, he whispers a small "Thank you."

My mother sits him down again, despite his protests that he has to leave, and I slide into the seat next to him, grabbing his hand under the table. He flips my hand over and strokes my knuckles with his thumb, instantly comforting me. But I keep on imagining how it must be to get beaten up all the time until you can barely move.

I'm sure he can fight back, but there must be a reason why he doesn't want to. I don't want to ask him about anything. I pull my hand out of his grasp and wrap both my arms around his body, leaning my head on his shoulder. His left arm wraps around me too, and I feel warm, safe and secure.

Someone clears their throat awkwardly, and only then I remember that my mother and Prim are sitting there too, staring at us. I blush, feeling hot all over. Cato blushes. "Thank you so much for helping me, Ms. Everdeen, Prim, and…Katniss," he says. We all smile and tell him it's nothing as he pulls his shirt on and shrugs his jacket across his broad shoulders.

My mother and Prim stand near the table, holding hands as Cato holds his arms out, and I walk straight into them, wrapping my arms loosely around his body so as not to hurt his bruises. His arms around me are tight, though, and his chin rests on the top of my head.

His body is warm and my face is snuggled into his chest, but after a moment we both let go and stare at each other. "See you tomorrow," he says, so softly that I thought I imagined it. Then he steps backwards, and his hand grips mine, until he lets go and my mother shows him out the front door. He flashes me a quick smile before leaving.

I sit down at the table, cheeks flushed and body tingling, wanting Cato's arms around me again. My mother checks her watch and tells me it's just past four in the morning, so she boils more hot water for tea. We all have a cup, and talk about Cato.

"He's cute, honey! Oh, I can see why you like him!" my mother gushes.

I blush. "He is," I whisper back, face flushed. "He's great."

"Mommy, mommy, mommy, he likes her too, so much, he told me. I ship it, I ship it! Catoniss forever!" Prim squeals.

We laugh and drain our cups, before dumping them into the sink and ambling back to bed. That night, my dreams are of Cato and his arms around me.

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**I hope you liked it, guys! Lots of people have told me that I made Katniss totally OOC, but that's how I want her to be in this fanfic; lovesick and gushy. I'm trying to keep Cato at a good balance of harsh and sweet, so please tell me if you liked Cato and Katniss' personalities.  
**

**-The Answer Is Love  
**


	9. The Glimmer Gang and Annie Cresta

The Baby Project Chapter 9

"Whoa, you look tired. What's up with you?" Marianna chirps as I stumble through the gates the following morning. Peeta is nowhere to be seen, but Rue and Madge are sharing a bag of brightly coloured candy. "Hi Katniss," Rue smiles, and Madge garbles something and thrusts the bag of candy towards me. "None for me, thanks," I say, exhausted. I know there are bags under my eyes; I saw them in the mirror this morning.

We all link arms and stroll to the school entrance, passing Glimmer, Clove, Gloss, Cashmere and Enobaria on the way there. Glimmer's hair is piled up high on her head, strands of her golden wavy hair escaping the hair tie. Her green eyes are bright and slightly narrowed, rimmed with fashionably smoky eye make-up. Her shirt is a glittery tank top, with short denim shorts.

They should've been called denim underwear.

"Oh, Everdeen, it's you!" Glimmer says as we walk past. "I thought Bigfoot went to our school. My mistake." She turns back to her little group, and they all laugh, Enobaria's waist-length dark hair flying out to hit Clove in the face. Clove eyes the back of Enobaria's head with dagger-eyes, but catches Gloss laughing and hits him instead. Gloss shuts up immediately. Cashmere just stands there, inspecting her manicure.

"You might want to try some glasses then, you idiot," Madge snaps at Glimmer. Rue giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. "Don't worry, Katniss," Marianna says. "I'm a size bigger than you, so I'm Bigfoot too."

But Glimmer's mouth puckers, and her hand darts out, shoving Rue harshly. Rue trips, smashing into Madge. The bag of candy flies up, and the gummy sweets rain down on us. I hurry forward to pick Rue up, while Marianna yells at Glimmer, Madge joining in. Peeta runs up and pulls them away while Gloss catches candy in his mouth, flinging some at Cashmere, who bats them away. Clove and Enobaria shriek constantly as the sweets stick to their hair.

"Are you okay, Rue?" I ask, grabbing her hand. She nods and gets up, but her knee is cut and bleeding and her hands are scratched and dirty. Madge, Peeta and Marianna come over, and Peeta lifts Rue into his arms. She leans against him gratefully, as Thresh comes into view, sad eyes looking at Rue's figure in Peeta's arms.

"Who did this to her?" he growls.

We don't need to say anything. Our eyes swivel to Glimmer, and she freezes, taking in Thresh's six-foot-five frame.

"It wasn't me!" she shrieks, pulling Enobaria in front of her to use as a shield. Enobaria flicks a gummy heart out of her hair and hurries away, Gloss following her.

Cashmere and Clove stand there behind Glimmer, out of her reach. But Thresh walks slowly towards Glimmer, and she backs away until her back is pressed against the wall. "I saw you!" he shouts. "Don't _ever_ touch Rue again or I'll make you regret it."

Glimmer gulps but nods, and only then I notice a crowd of people are watching everything unfold. One guy picks up some candy from the floor and chews it.

Thresh tags along with us to the nurse's office, and we all wait outside while Rue's knee and hands are bandaged up. "I'm going to kill that idiot," Madge grumbles, her legs stretched out in front of her and her back against the wall. Marianna laughs, standing next to Madge, refusing to sit down because her dress is so short. "Go ahead. Peeta'll film it for us to watch every Saturday night."

"That I will," Peeta smiles, wrapping an arm around Marianna. Her head rests on his shoulder, and she grins at him, red hair vibrant. Her face is glowing happily. Thresh waits by the door, muttering obscenities directed at Glimmer under his breath. The door opens and Rue comes out, looking bewildered as we all pounce on her and ask her questions.

"Did it hurt?" Madge asks.

"Must have, poor Rue," Marianna coos.

"If she hurts you again I will chase her across the border," Thresh snarls.

"It'll heal soon," Peeta smiles.

"Glimmer is such a…a…eurgh, I don't know! I hate her so much!" I say, frustrated.

Marianna checks her watch and tells us the time is 9:23. We are twenty-three minutes late for registration. Thresh is not in our class, so he tells us goodbye and he'll meet us at lunch before running off to his classroom. We walk a little slower, Peeta's arm around Marianna's shoulders, Madge sulking about the loss of her candy, Rue marvelling at the bandages on her hands, and me silently looking ahead. We find our room and turn the knob, going in.

Our whole class is sitting down; but the seats are scrambled around. Glimmer and Clove are sitting together, with triumphant smiles on their faces. _What are they smiling for? _I wonder, then I notice that the only free seats left are separated; one next to Clove, one next to Mr. Wythley's desk, one at the back, one at the right side of the room, one at the left and one at the front.

Mr. Wythley looks up from his computer screen and calls us in. We stand at the front uncertainly, and Mr. Wythley starts screaming at us about punctuality, while the whole class snigger and Clove records it on her mobile phone. Rue is placed in the lone seat at the back, I'm sat at the front, a breath away from Glimmer. Marianna is at the far right, and Peeta is at the far left. Madge sits next to Clove, and I can almost swear she looks excited about the pranking future she's planning.

Two minutes later, the bell for first class goes and we all grab our stuff to go. It's Art, and Glimmer is in my class. I could really have done without that.

Peeta, Marianna and I walk to Art, complaining about the seating plan. Ms. Loretta lets us in, and nobody else is there. Taking out my pencils, I sighed. "This is going to be bad."

"Wasn't I right?" I say as we exit the Art class, covered in flecks of glittery paint. Marianna's red hair is dotted with silver paint, and Peeta is covered in a mix of blue, green and red. I got the worst of it, though; silver, gold, purple, blue, green and red. Marianna's pretty blue dress seems to be shining with glittery dots. It looks fashionable, though, and people compliment her and ask her where she got her dress from as we pass them.

We were doing abstract painting, but Glimmer's paintbrush kept on flicking its way toward our faces, spattering us with the whole colour spectrum. Nice.

We didn't get any work done, since every time our brush had painted a few lines, a huge blob of paint would fly up out of nowhere and drench our paper. Ms. Loretta yelled at us for being ignorant, while Glimmer laughed under the table while pretending to clean up the mess.

"I, for one, am sick of that girl!" Marianna says. "Someone really needs to slap her, before I do."

"Ooh, chick fights are hot," Peeta grins, and Marianna and I slap him.

I say goodbye to Peeta and Marianna and leave them on the upper school level, running down to meet Rue in the library for my free period. Madge is in Math. In my bag is a selection of snacks, with some books to read. But mostly I'll just chat to Rue.

Pushing open the heavy mahogany door, the smell of musty old books hits me full in the face. I'm sure the school can afford new books, but they're too stingy to buy them. Every single book in our school library is falling apart and yellowing.

The librarian sits in the desk chair, snoring soundly. Two boys sit at the first table, one with his earphones in, and one flicking through the pages of a comic. The next table is empty, and a chair with three wobbly legs is tucked neatly under it. Rue is sitting at the next one, alone. I pull up the chair next to her.

"Hiya, Katniss!" Rue smiles, holding out a bag of gummy bears in front of me. "Want one? Madge bought them for me, she had a free period." I smile back and take a blue fizzy gummy worm, letting the taste roll around my mouth. "Thanks," I say to her. Rue leans towards me, squinting curiously. "What?" I ask.

"You have bags under your eyes," she says suspiciously. "Just like you haven't slept very well."

I reach for another gummy worm silently, but Rue holds the bag away from me. "Tell me why you didn't sleep last night," she giggles mischievously, her dark eyes shining. "My bets are, it has something to do with _Cato Cerulean_."

"How do you know?" I goggle in disbelief.

"Marianna told me," she said. "And by the sounds of it, I think you're dating him."

My jaw drops. "Don't be silly," I scoff. "I'm not dating Cato Cerulean, I'm dating Bradley Higgins. And you know it."

"No, Katniss, I don't. I know you want Cato. Just admit it!"

"Fine! Fine, I do. I want Cato."

"And why are there bags under your eyes?"

I sigh. "He came over last night."

Rue leans over the table, her curly dark hair framing her pretty face. Her mouth is set in a childish grin.

"Ooooh. It sounds totally Catolicious!"

We both giggle loudly, and the boys at the next table look over. The one with the earphones winks at me, and my cheeks flare up.

"Go you, Katniss!" Rue cheers. "Three guys!"

Rue and I chat non-stop about Cato and Thresh, who Rue thinks is cute, and play endless games on paper before the bell rings for break, and we hurry out to meet Mari, Peeta and Madge. Thresh, maybe. Clove and Glimmer aren't in our group of friends anymore, but I can probably add Cato and his friends in.

Peeta, Mari and Madge are waiting at the school fountain with Annie Cresta. She is clutching two books to her chest and her glasses sit on the edge of her nose. Her long dark hair flies around her shoulders, and her sea green eyes gaze at us anxiously. "Hi, Annie," I say, as Rue and I reach them.

"Hi, Katniss," Annie replies .She pushes her glasses higher up her nose. "Marianna and Peeta said I could hang out with you guys today. Is that okay with you?" she licks her lips nervously. We all laugh. "Why wouldn't it be okay?" Peeta says kindly. "Come on, let's go outside, the sun's come out."

Peeta and Marianna link arms, and Rue and Madge share the remaining gummy worms with Annie Cresta. Annie chews on them, laughing at Rue's jokes. Her teeth are straight and white, and she has a pretty smile. I think I've only just noticed that Annie Cresta could be popular, pretty, everything, just like one of Glimmer's gang.

Peeta picks out a bench that was once dark brown, now bleached white by the sun. Marianna sits down first, her long legs to the side, nudging Peeta. Peeta sits next to Marianna, not seeming to mind her cute navy school shoes up his butt. Rue and Madge squash up at the end, and Annie Cresta and I sit in the middle.

"Well, this is an awkward way to sit!" Madge laughs. Peeta and Madge scout the empty school grounds for another bench, which they drag over. Annie Cresta, Marianna and I sit on it, with thank-you nods at Peeta and Madge.

Everyone starts talking, while I focus on a group of boys at the trunk of a tree. There are four of them, and they're all laughing and joking. The biggest one, with dark skin, rolls down the hill and the others laugh, while a lanky fair-skinned boy quickly follows.

Those boys look like Cato's group of friends.

Cato stands by the tree trunk with Finnick. The two are deep in conversation.

"…Is it just me or does anybody else think Cato and Katniss have something going on?" Marianna says, winking. My face flushes red.

"Yeah, they have chemistry, I know it!" Peeta says. "I mean, he fought with her like two days ago in Drama but the way he looked at her, you knew he didn't mean it."

"Katniss likes him too," Rue says.

Madge rolls her eyes and snatches a peppermint drop from Rue. "Even I knew that, dummy. It's just a matter of time before she realises that they're meant to be."

"Oh, sure, then I suppose we'll make babies together," I snap.

"Exactly," Annie Cresta giggles, adjusting her glasses. Her eyes shine bright. Her eyes slide past my face, over to Cato's group. "Isn't Finnick Odair cute though?" she says quietly. We all gawp at her, wide-eyed.

"Ohh, is he the bronze-haired cutie?" Marianna giggles, leaning her head onto Peeta's shoulder. "You go get him, Cresta!"

Madge pops a gummy worm into her mouth. "Mmm. His eyes!" she says. "I'd love it if you guys got together."

Annie blushes feverishly. "He wouldn't want to go out with me," she says shyly. "I'm pretty sure guys like Finnick Odair don't go out with girls like me."

"What's wrong with you?" Rue asks, puzzled.

Annie pauses for a moment. "Well, I read books a lot. I'd rather stay at home and read than go to a party. Finnick seems like a party animal, and I'm not sure he'd like me because of my glasses."

We all stay silent. Then after a while, Peeta says, "If any guy didn't like you just because you wear glasses, then he should get a punch in the face. I'd rather read than party, anyway. You've got a lovely personality, and you're very pretty."

We all nod. "Couldn't have said it any better myself." Marianna agrees.

"Peeta's right, you're gorgeous!" Rue grins. Then she snaps her fingers. "Hey! Why don't Mari, Madge, and Katniss and I give you a makeover?" she smiles at Peeta sweetly. "No offence, Mellark."

"None taken," Peeta laughs.

"I'd love to do that!" Madge squeals. "We could do your hair; get you contact lenses, new outfits, makeup, accessories even!"

Annie blushes again. "No, you don't have to!" she says, waving her hands in the air. But nobody cares, and we all shush her.

"Finnick Odair won't be able to take his eyes off you," I grin.

The bell for lessons goes and we all stand up, making our way back into the school building.

* * *

**Thank you so much, reviewers and readers. If you're reading this right now, I just want to tell you I'm grateful for your support and thank you so much!  
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**Review, maybe? :)  
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**- The Answer Is Love  
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	10. Sorry, Bradley!

**Before you start reading, I just wanted to thank you guys for your support. It means a lot to me, especially when I get new emails telling me that someone has reviewed or followed my story!****  
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**My first fanfic had 3 followers, and it's long since been deleted, but I'm grateful that I have wonderful readers like you. I'm trying to update more often now, just for you guys.  
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**Tell me if you liked this chapter; it's quite short, but hey I tried!  
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**-The Answer Is Love  
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* * *

The Baby Project Chapter 10

"Why do we only get slop for lunch?" Rue grumbled, as a lunch lady ladled a glob of lumpy stew onto her plate. Some stew splattered Rue's shirtfront, and her stripy pink shirt remained stained even after a long scrubbing session. "Beats me," Marianna replies, reaching for a bag of apple slices and a bottle of water. I point at some macaroni and cheese, and get a big helping from the lunch lady. Madge and Peeta have their own lunches, and sit at the table waiting for us. Annie pays for her lunch, salad, and runs off to join Peeta and Madge.

As you can probably tell, it's lunch now, and we're all hungry and tired of putting up with Glimmer's torture. We've been pelted with erasers and pencil sharpenings all day long, and I can't take it anymore. I navigate my way in between the cafeteria tables, and find my friends sitting already, waiting for me to arrive. I slide in between Madge and Annie.

"Oh, look, Katniss, there's your boyfriend," Marianna snorts, as Bradley Higgins strolls up to me, his jeans slung so low they're almost at his knees. Two inches of his underwear show. "Hey, Katty," he grins, winking at me. He has two of his friends with him, and they hang back, their hands in their pockets. I recognise them as the two boys from the library with Rue today.

"Bradley," I say uncomfortably.

Marianna giggles into her bag of apple slices, and Madge chokes on her sandwich. Rue spits out her water across the table. Peeta smirks into his bread, and Annie Cresta smiles sweetly at Bradley. "Hello, Bradley," she says.

Bradley winks at her. "Hey, sweetie," he says to her. Then he looks at me. "Come on, let's go somewhere. Just us."

Marianna kicks my foot under the table and muffles her giggles into Peeta's shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cato, Finnick, and the other two boys sitting at their table. Cato's eyes were fixed on me. I nodded slowly, and he nodded back. Then he turned to talk to Finnick.

"Let's just talk downstairs," I say. So I grabbed my bag, swung it over my shoulder, and apologised to Peeta, Marianna, Madge, Rue and Annie. I walked out, and Bradley followed me, hanging back a little because of his jeans. I think they were falling off his legs.

We jogged down the stairs, and eventually ended up in a secluded corner. I checked behind the walls. There was nobody there. Bradley leaned against the wall, grinning at me. I think he thought I led him away to make out.

"Oh, Katty, nice make-out den," he laughed, coming closer to me. My back was pressed against the wall. "Let's get started, then."

He tilted his head to the side and shut his eyes, leaning in. I pushed him back, both hands on his chest. "No!" I squeaked. "No! Bradley, I didn't come here to kiss you."

He looked at me, confused. "Huh? What? What are we here for, then?" His blue eyes searched mine, curiously. "Nothing," I said quietly. "I just…don't think this is working. I…this is difficult. Er…Bradley, we have to break up."

He stepped back. His jeans fell a little lower on his hips. "What did you just say?" he whispers. I shake my head at him. "Bradley, it's not working. At all. You call me Katty, but I hate nicknames. You aren't…who I thought you were."

He runs a hand through his brown hair. "What? How could you even _say_ that?" he says, getting angry now. "How _could _you? I was crazy for you, but I knew it was all about him! I _knew_!"

"Who?" I say. "Who? I doubt you even know!"

"_Cato Cerulean_!" he snaps. "I saw the secret looks, the way he looked when you talked to him, I even saw your eyes flick towards him when I was talking to him. How could you? Thought you were being so secretive?" he rolled his eyes. "You were about as secretive as a giraffe holding a balloon. I bet you've been with him, behind my back!"

I look down at the floor guiltily. "It's true," I whisper back. "All of it. But that didn't stop you from liking Glimmer whilst you were dating me."

Bradley's hands grasp at his hair, and he barks, "What do you know about me? Nothing! You know absolutely nothing! So just shut up, Everdeen, and get lost!"

"That's not a very nice way to talk to a lady." A voice says from behind me. Bradley's jaw drops, and I turn around to see Cato, coming towards us. His jaw is set and his eyes are a dull blue, like arctic ice. Bradley steps back, annoyed.

"That's not a lady," Bradley says. Then he starts yelling. "That's a mutt! A stinking mutt who manipulates people!"

Bradley turns to run, but Cato grabs his collar. "Don't ever talk about Katniss like that ever again!" he shouted furiously. "She's amazing and you don't deserve her. If I hear anything as stupid and wrong as that coming out of your disgusting mouth, or if you've had your grubby little hands on her, I'll get you. I'll hunt you down and _make you sorry_."

Finnick and two other boys walk out from the shadows behind Cato. Finnick winks at me. Bradley's face is pale white and he's trembling. "Alright," he whispers. Cato drops him and he crumples to the floor, but quickly jumps up again and runs up the stairs. Cato stares after him angrily, eyes dark and menacing.

Cato's arms surround me, and he pulls me against him. My arms wrap around his body and we cling there, his head resting on top of mine. "God, he's such an asshole," Cato mutters, as we pull away. His fingers stroke my cheek gently. "Yeah," I laugh a little. Somebody clears their throat.

"All right, Cato, save it for later," Finnick says. "But I think you should introduce Gay-le and Marvie the Fairy for now."

The two tall boys shove Finnick, laughing. Cato laughs too, but keeps a firm arm around my waist. "This is Gale Hawthorne," he says, gesturing to a tall, slightly toned dark-haired boy with mischievous eyes. "He's awesome. And this is Marvel Geller." He nods towards the lanky boy with brown hair and green eyes who asked why I was holding the baby doll a couple days ago.

"Hey," Marvel smiled. "I'm not really a fairy."

"Yeah, I know," I laughed, leaning against Cato. I liked Cato's friends. They were great.

"And you already know who I am, but I'll introduce myself as the man of your dreams." Finnick comes to my other side and drapes a friendly arm around my shoulders. We all laugh. "What do you want to do now?" Cato asks. I shrug.

"Won't Mari, Peeta, Annie, Madge and Rue be expecting me back? We could all hang out together," I suggest.

Cato, Finnick, Marvel and Gale all nodded, so we trooped back to the cafeteria, Finnick's arm around my shoulders and Cato's arm around my waist. When we stepped in, everything went quiet. I guess Bradley did something. My friends get up and run over to me, hugging me tightly.

"Bradley went crazy! I thought something happened to you!" Marianna gasped. I laughed. "No, I'm fine. Cato, Finnick, Marvel and Gale stopped him before he could do anything."

Marianna looked at Cato in awe. "I knew he was special!" she squealed to me. She smiled at Cato. "Thanks for rescuing Katniss," she said. Cato nods at her, his arm still around me. "My pleasure," he said gruffly.

Peeta, Madge, Rue and Annie all came over, and Annie's eyes were glued to Finnick's face. Finnick was looking at his shoes though. "Shall we all go outside?" I ask, and everyone seems happy with the suggestion, so we all find a spot under a tree in the school grounds and sit down in the shade.

My back is against the tree trunk, and Cato is leaning on it next to me. I'm leaning half on his body and his warm arm envelopes me. Mari and Peeta sit next to each other, knees touching. Rue and Annie Cresta are lying down on their stomachs, and Madge and Gale are laughing. Cato and I are talking to Finnick and Marvel, sharing jokes.

"There's this new movie in the theatre I really want to watch. Maybe we could all go?" Marvel inquired. Cato thought about it. "Do you want to go, Katniss?" he asked me. I leaned my head against his shoulder, and his arm tightened around me. "Sure," I said enthusiastically. "Let's go."

"I'll come too," Madge declared. "me and Gale."

Operation Gadge was live.

"I'll come, if you want," Rue replied. "But I don't want to be thirdwheeling."

"Of course you won't be thirdwheeling!" I exclaimed. "We'd love to have you there. Maybe you could ask Thresh to come with you?"

Rue beamed at me. "Yeah, I will," she grins.

"Count me and Mari in," Peeta smiled.

"I'll come along for the laughs, girl on fire," Finnick grinned lazily.

Cato looked at Finnick. "Girl on _what_?" he asked.

"Fire. Girl on fire. She's so fiery, isn't she? Fierce?" Finnick articulated.

Cato smiled at me, then nodded slowly. "Fiery. Like her eyes. Yeah." I smiled back, then wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Both of his arms enveloped my body, and I clung to him, grateful for his warmth in the cool shade.

"And there Catoniss go again." Marvel chuckled. Then he turned to Annie Cresta, who was sitting silently, listening to our conversations. "Are you coming, Cresta?"

Annie blinked, observing us quickly. "Do you want me to come?" she asked us, her voice barely a whisper. She pushed her glasses further up her nose. We all smiled and nodded, but Finnick took her hand gently in his and said, "I'd certainly love to have you there, Miss Cresta."

Annie blushed scarlet. "Th-th-thanks," she stammered. "I'll come." Finnick's mouth twitched up into a grin, and he didn't drop her hand.

"That Bradley was such an idiot," Marianna said, examining her nails. "I don't even know what you saw in him."

I sighed. "I didn't really see anything in him," I admitted. "He was sort of…"

"A rebound?" Finnick suggests. We all laugh.

"Yeah, Finnick. A rebound," I say, rolling my eyes.

Cato shifts a little, and my head is resting on his chest. His eyes are fixed on mine, and he mouths "Love you," at me. I smile and mouth it straight back, reaching up and touching his cheek. The corners of his mouth lift, and both of his arms wrap around me tightly. I feel like laughing all of a sudden, so I do.

Cato starts laughing randomly too, and we're both falling apart in hysterics when we notice that nobody else is laughing. Rue, Madge, Mari, Peeta, Marvel, Gale, Finnick and Annie are all staring at us, with worried looks on our faces, like we did something wrong.

"What are you guys looking at?" I giggle, covering my mouth with my hand. "You look so…_shocked_!" Cato and I laugh some more, then mimic their faces. Peeta shakes his head and laughs uncertainly. "You two are so weird and perfect for each other," Mari laughs.

"Oh, remember! Health class! Our baby!" Gale exclaims. He swings his black backpack off of his shoulder and dumps it on his lap, fishing around inside. His large hand comes out clutching a slightly dirty baby doll. "Oh, Gale!" Madge groans. "Tony's dirty! Are we allowed to bathe him?" her hand covers her mouth. "You're such a bad daddy."

"But you like me like that," Gale snorts, kissing Madge's cheek. Madge blushes momentarily, but lets it slide. She takes Tony carefully from Gale, wrapping him up in a square of blue cloth from her bag. She stows him away, and zips it up.

Mari and Peeta grab each other excitedly. "We chose a name," Mari says proudly. "Her name is Zoey." Peeta lifts Zoey out of his bag, and shows us a small baby doll in a fluffy pink blanket with a rubbery face and blue glassy eyes. Cato squeezes me tighter.

"She's…beautiful, man," Marvel says uncertainly.

"My, she's pretty," Annie awkwardly cuts in.

"Gorgeous," Cato mutters.

"Maybe Tony and Zoey can marry!" Madge squeals. Gale rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, and they can have a kid named Dan." He says.

We all splutter, rolling around on the grass in hysterics. Being with these guys make me happy.

"What's your baby called, Katniss?" Rue asks me. "Mine and Thresh's is called May. Thresh chose it because his birthday's in May."

Cato lets go of me for a while, and grabs his bag too. He opens it and brings out our doll. Unlike Tony, it's clean, and the face looks less creepy. "Aw, you took such good care of it!" Madge coos, tickling its little plastic chin. "But you'd better pick a name, because we have Health class again tomorrow."

"Well, I'm letting Katniss pick," Cato says.

Marianna's green eyes sparkle. "There are so many possibilities!" she beamed. "Marianna is one of the better options. Mari, for short."

"Yeah, right," Peeta huffs. "I think Peeta's a better option." Then everyone's shouting their names.

"Annie!"

"Finnick!"

"Marvel!"

"Gale!"

"Madge!"

"Be quiet!" Rue laughs.

"How about…" I looked up at the sky. It was blue, with a faint pink tint. Beautiful. "…Skye," I said slowly. "Skye."

Cato and the others thought about it. "Hm. I like it." Cato agreed.

The others did too.

"Skye, Skye, Skye. Skye Everdeen-Cerulean. Cute!" Marianna grinned.

The bell for the end of lunch went, and we all stood up to go back to school.

"I have a free period," Marvel says. "What have you all got next?"

"Me, Katniss and Rue have Geography," Marianna announces.

"History." Madge grunts.

"Physics with Cato," Finnick smiles.

"English Lit." Gale declares.

"Oh." Marvel says unhappily. "What about you, Mellark and Cresta?"

"I'm free," Peeta said.

"Sorry, not free. Got to go to the library," Annie explains, adjusting her glasses. "But this lunch with you was nice. I like you guys."

We all hugged each other, but when I got to Cato, he held me close and whispered into my ear, "Don't worry. I'll call you tonight." I laughed, and watched Cato and Finnick strolled off, hands in their pockets. Marvel and Peeta went away, chatting noisily, and Madge walked back to the building. Annie scuttled over to the library, hair swishing, and Mari, Rue and I linked arms and went to the Geography block.

All through Geography, I was focused on Cato. Cato's arms around me, Cato's blue eyes trained on my grey ones, the heat of his body, the muscles in his arms. His firm grip. I sighed loudly.

"_Katniss Everdeen_! Stop thinking inappropriate thoughts and _focus_! Now, what is the capital of Germany?" Ms. Mason snapped.

"Greenland," Rue said quietly, and Mari snorted.

"Berlin, Ms. Mason," I said earnestly. Ms. Mason scowled.

"Yes, that's right. Please stand up, Marianna Dawson."

Marianna stood up uncertainly, not knowing what she'd done.

"Yes, Ms. Mason?"

"Don't act all innocent," Ms. Mason snapped. "I'm moving you for helping Katniss cheat."

Marianna flushed red. "I did not!" she said hotly. "She said it herself!"

I stand up too. "She didn't help me cheat! I never even cheated!" I yell.

Ms. Mason raised an eyebrow. "Don't fight me, Everdeen. Both of you sit down before I give you detention."

I shut my mouth and sat down, annoyed. How dare she accuse us of cheating!

"If you'll all play fairly, unlike Everdeen here, we'll get along nicely," Ms. Mason grinned.

I couldn't agree more.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! If you're reading this, just know that I thank you for your support and you're what keeps me going.**

**Review for me, maybe? Feedback is appreciated!  
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**-The Answer Is Love  
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	11. Soup!

**Hello! Before you start reading, let me just apologise for this ultra-short chapter. I'm just having trouble with what to write, and the amount of schoolwork is intimidating. I'll put up the next chapter soon, but I just wanted the updates to be more frequent because I feel guilty when I keep you guys waiting.**

**There will be extra Catoniss next chapter, so I'm sorry for this chapter.  
**

**-The Answer Is Love**

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The Baby Project Chapter 11

When I reached the spot where Prim and I met every day, I did not expect to meet someone else there with her. But there he was, Cato, laughing and joking with my little sister. Prim had one hand over her mouth, blue eyes lit up and rosy cheeks with a healthy tint. Cato, who towered over her, was pulling a hilariously funny face.

"Hi, you two," I say, wrapping an arm around Prim. Cato pulls a mock hurt face, making Prim giggle again, but leans over and kisses my cheek. I blush shyly. "Aaw!" Prim sighs. "I think I'm going to make a blog post about you guys when we get home!"

"Well, I'd be honoured," I said flatly. Cato laughs.

"Go on, Prim. Here, take a photo and put it up!" he says. He grabs my hand and gets down on one knee, kissing it. I smile. "Ew, gross, just like Finnick!"

Cato grins, and his eyes melt. My heart melts too. "Well, guess I'd better be going," he admits. Then he places his hand on his heart and tilts his mouth down, looking gorgeously sad. "But it pains me to be leaving two beautiful ladies."

"Oh, stop it," I mutter, but I'm smiling, too.

"Bye, Cato," Prim says, running forward and hugging him. She falls against him, but he doesn't budge an inch. "Oh, hey! Bye, Prim," he says, hugging her little body gently. "I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe when I call Katniss tonight, you can talk to me too."

Prim nods happily, stepping away from Cato. Cato grins at me, mouths goodbye, then turns around and walks out the school.

I miss him instantly after he's gone.

* * *

I'm sitting on my bed reading when my mobile starts ringing. I lunge at it, scrabbling for the "answer" key. I pick up on the second ring. "Katniss Everdeen," I say. "Who is this?" "Your knight in shining armour," Cato answers. I laugh.

"Hey, Cato. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just been…working," he says uncomfortably.

My mouth dries up. "Cato, are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine," he assures me. "Don't worry about me. How are you?"

"Great," I say enthusiastically. "Just remembering today. How cool was it to hang out? Like, all of us together?"

I twist my hair around my finger, looking up at my ceiling. It needed a new coat of paint.

"I loved it," Cato replied. "Do you want to hang out again tomorrow, then? Just because."

"Yes!" I yelled into the phone. "Yes!"

Cato laughed. "Well, then. Let's do it."

I snorted into the speaker, then slapped a hand over my mouth as I realised that Cato could hear me. "What?" Cato asked, bewildered. "Was it something I said?"

"You said we should _do it_!" I snort. "_Do it_! Hahah! Oh my God, Cato, don't you realise how funny that is?"

Cato was silent for a moment, and I thought I'd blown our chances of being in a relationship, but then he started guffawing down the phone. "I get it," he said in-between laughter. "Katniss, look what you've done to me!"

"I'm sorry," I say, as I lean down and pick up my diary off the floor. I open it up to the current date then gasp, dropping it.

"Katniss? What? What's wrong? Are you okay? Do you need me to come over or-" Cato starts, but I stop him. "We had to swap the baby round, taking turns! Oh, I forgot!" I mumble, pressing a hand to my forehead. "We'll fail."

"Ms. Beacon doesn't know," he says. "I'll just say we did."

"You're a lifesaver," I grin, even though he can't see it.

"That's just me," Cato declares.

We stay on the phone and ask each other random questions.

"Favourite movie?"

"Don't have one."

"Favourite book?"

"I don't read much."

"Gosh, you don't read? Shame on you, Cato."

"Yeah, shame on me. What's your favourite colour?"

"Forest green."

"Favourite food?"

"Cookies." I smile.

"Katniss Everdeen, the cookie monster!"

And so it goes on, until my mother calls me into the kitchen to help.

"Katniss! Put the phone down and come help!" My mother calls.

"Sorry. I've got to go," I mutter. "My mother needs me."

"It's okay," he says, good-naturedly. "Oh, and Katniss?"

"Yeah?" I ask.

"I had fun talking to you today."

A warm feeling spreads right through me. "Same here."

"Bye," Cato whispered.

"Goodbye," I whispered back.

I jumped up off my bed and skittered into the kitchen, where my mother was fiddling around with a bunch of pots and pans. They were all blackened and dirty, with remnants of foods clinging to the inside. The cooker was spattered with oil, and Prim was scrubbing away forlornly at the hob while my mother mopped the floor.

"What happened?" I ask.

My mother wiped a strand of fair hair away from her forehead. Beads of sweat collected at her temples. "Dinner went wrong," she panted. Then she shook her head sadly. "I've lost my knack for cooking." I roll my eyes. Of course her cooking knack has gone; she hasn't cooked anything in years, really.

Prim hands me a sponge and I grab a pot, scrubbing it as hard as I can with the rough side. After ten minutes of intense scrubbing, the thick layer of dirt comes off and falls into the sink, staining the water. "What was this meant to be?" I ask my mother. She comes over and peers at the charred mess. "Pasta," she replies. I nod, but inside I'm gagging. That certainly isn't pasta.

Prim sprays the cooker and wipes it over one more time, then helps me with the washing. It takes us a good hour to wash everything up. Our mother has long since finished cleaning the floor, but then puts all the ingredients away in the cupboards. Our dinner ends up being more soup, cooked by me and Prim.

"Oh, that was excellent," my mother sighs, finishing her bowlful. Prim looks at me. We had to water it down to have bigger portions, and it tastes awful. "Yeah," I mutter. Prim smiles at me. "Cato is the nicest boy ever," she gushes. "I love them both! He's awesome."

My mother's eyes widen. "Oh really? He's your boyfriend! I thought you were just good friends," my mother says. I shrug.

"I don't know."

"Well okay, darling. Don't give in if you don't want to. He can't make you do anything."

"_Mother_!" I gasp. "Seriously? Okay, I'm going to go to bed. Night."

"Night!" Prim smiles.

"Goodnight, Katniss," my mother says cheerfully.

I brush my teeth quickly, gagging when the brush touches my tongue, and splash water onto my face. I notice how much happier I look, such a change, and identify the way my eyebrows curve upward when I'm content.

Cato makes everything better.

* * *

**I know, I'm sorry that this was awful. I'm running out of creative energy.**

**Reviews will get you a longer chapter, extra Catoniss and more frequent updates, as well as giving me encouragement! :)  
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**So please, for me; review, maybe?  
**

**-The Answer Is Love  
**


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